


Sidekick

by Blue_Hood



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Children, Childhood Trauma, F/M, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Recovery, Underdog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 16:35:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14048367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: Michael Dewey spent 8 years in Hell, held by a psycho and forced to work as his accomplice. He survives and plays a role in his captor's take down. 8 years in Hell scars anyone, Mikey was classmates with Wally West before he went missing. Can he come back to living in the normal world?





	1. Escape

“I didn't have a choice.”

“You did have a choice!” He slammed me against the wall, his strength on full display. The hits didn't hurt. My broken bones never had time to heal. I knew how to end this before I get another near death experience. I apologized in tears, he let go and I fell onto my knees. My tears stop as I prepare for restraints, a steel dog collar. Maybe a real whipping.

He returned to his current naked victim. She was tied up to the metal chair, he’d already done her a few times but she was still scared of more. He straddled her and screwed her. He’d done it enough times she knew not to cry but few enough times she hated every minute of it. He finished again and watered her before leaving the room. She screamed at me, “How can you just watch?” I couldn't, not anymore. He got pissed because I tried to leave without an assigned errand, he took out some of his anger while screwing her. He knew I was trying to abandon him, knew I’d wind up betraying him. I tried to tell him I was going to prepare to dump her body but he knew better. I hit him, not like I hit hard but he didn't believe I didn't meant to.

Her words ricocheted, drown out by my own guilt. I got up and duct taped her mouth shut, he didn't like his whores bothering him. I didn't want to get in trouble for being kind or for screwing his whore. I slapped her until she stopped trying to talk then I tipped the chair and spanked her. Before returning to where he left me.

He called down, “I want that whore kept warm.”

I knew what he meant and I obeyed, never raped but lost my trousers and straddled her. I made sure we were both where he left us when he came back down after a bad day. He pretty much forgot all about me until he wanted an errand run.

I didn't run the errand. I planned to run out to run to Central, or better yet Gotham but sitting on broken legs made running hard. I fell just outside a police precinct within Keystone City. I genuinely cried my eyes out as police officers carried me inside. They set me down in an interrogation room on some blankets that were on the floor for me. They also fed me, after I eventually ran out of tears. I knew better than to accept their stuff. What choice did I have with the blankets, I couldn't stand. I ate the food without thought, fast food like He feeds victims but also candy, nothing they had to cook.

One of the cops came back after leaving me with the blankets and feeding me. He was a young white man, light brown hair, blue eyes. He did most of the carrying and setting up my interrogation. He came in, leading a doctor. The doctor was white, black hair and only carried a stethoscope. The cop didn't try to talk to me, unlike the other guy who questioned me as they brought me in. The doctor checked my breathing, taking exaggerated breaths instead of saying breathe. He put his stethoscope on my legs, feeling around. Then he and the cop left me to my food.

Next person was a lady who asked me questions, unlike the cop who questioned me, she wanted to know about me not my injuries. I didn't answer any of the cops questions. He was gonna be mad I tried to run away and mad I went to the police. As the lady was about to leave I said two words that changed everything, “Justice League.” She tried to get me to talk more but those were the only words I’d say.

I fell asleep on the blankets. When I woke up, Kid Flash was poking me. I sat up on the cot and he stopped. I was in some kind of cave, mostly empty with some hologram computer thing and big metal tubes across from a hall like tunnel but no bats or caped crusader stuff so not the Batcave. How many superhero caves are there? Batman approached me, “Lay back down. You have too many broken bones to be sitting up.” I obeyed, not sure how bad he’d hurt me for disobedience but I didn't want to know.

Kid Flash said “Bye,” and disappeared in a blur.

Beside me, Batman asked, in a human sounding not Batman voice, “Who did this to you?” He is human but I didn't know what Batman was except scary.

I said “He’ll do worse if he finds out I ran away.”

Batman stood, “Start at the beginning.”

“I was a street kid. This guy said he had a job for little guys if they could follow orders, said he’d pay us. I wasn't the only one who agreed but the others disappeared.” I stopped to cry.

Light filled one of the metal tubes and Black Canary ran over to me, “What did you do?”

“I asked who did that to him.”

I stopped crying and moved closer to the wall on the cot, “I don't know what he did to them I swear. He had me run errands for him. There are rules, like avoid cops. He didn't pay me. The job he needed little guys for was luring women to him. He pointed to one and I used a sob story to get her where he wanted. Break the rules, pay the price.”

I shied away from Batman, having his attention scared me. Black Canary stepped between us, thinking he was glaring. Batman turned his back on me, doing something on the computer hologram. I continued, “After I got bigger, I started loading them into the trunk for him.”

I thought about how Batman was acting. Almost ignoring me as he focused on the computer. Something clicked, Batman hurts bad people. My knife probably wouldn’t put me in the good people column. I pulled it out slowly. Maybe I should kill myself, they'll never stop him and he’s gonna find me. I got the knife in my hand and threw it. I wasn't aiming, it flew past Black Canary and skittered across the floor. White light was coming from the floor like the light Black Canary entered through. They turned back to me and I cowered, pulling the blanket up closer to my face.

Batman said “Kid Flash.”

The redhead in yellow appeared from the hall, “Yeah?”

“Take our guest to your room.”

Kid Flash ran over and helped me get up, basically carrying me as we walked. The tunnel hall was short and lead to a living room with a kitchen, food sounded good. Kid Flash kept walking to another hall with doors so that’s where I went. A Martian girl, a boy wearing a red S on a black T-shirt, and a bunch of sidekicks were in the living room. Robin got up from the couch as we passed the living room, heading towards the big room we just left. Kid Flash opened one of the doors and gently picked me up to help me get into the bed. The bed had a Flash blanket on it. The room had posters and action figures and stuff like that all around. It was an awesome kid’s room, being in a cave didn’t hurt.

Kid Flash held out pills and a juice box for me, “Here. This will help you sleep.” I swallowed them, figuring he’d check after everything I told Batman. He asked “You want the light off?” I shook my head and he left the light on. I quickly fell asleep, Kid Flash’s bed was the first bed I can remember having all to myself.


	2. Wally West

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Borrowing some elements from the start of Varmint's Watch Me Burn.

Kid Flash returned to the training room, “Try 8 years.” Their first priority should be identifying the boy but Batman had strayed from that to finding out who abused him. Flash came in, seeing the knife the kid had thrown and having a panic attack because he identified the knife as one tied to a killer-rapist that was supposed to have been dealt with. That hadn't helped Batman focus, as he tried to decipher speedster speak to understand the information Flash was spewing. Robin came in soon after Flash and asked about the case while Batman was focused on the speedster speak.

Kid Flash missed quite the show. At his suggestion, Batman deaged an image of the boy 8 years and checked missing persons reports from the same time. He got a match for a Michael, reported missing by his mother. Flash recognized the boy’s name, “Wasn't he in your class?” Kid Flash nodded.

Batman looked into Michael's mother, “His master killed his mother, his father also died under strange circumstances.”

Kid Flash said nervously “Yeah. Rumor was he turned into a monster and killed his dad. Kids called him Mikey monster. The rumors got worse when he went missing, the monster disappeared into the woods and stuff like that. Bet most kids don't even remember him.”

Kid Flash ran, grabbed Flash and dragged him into Canary’s counsel room. Removing the top half of his costume, he showed his scars. Flash looked at him, Wally answered the unasked question “Mom and dad did most of it.”

Flash hugged him, “Is there anything else I should know about?”

Wally nodded, defying his mind, “Check my house, my room and the basement. I’m not gonna testify against my parents so you'll need to do some real investigating.” He was taking Red Hood’s advice, “Red Hood is Jason Todd, he's back from the dead and you should really look at the month following his funeral.” Damnit. He was trying to sell Red Hood and Batman out, not give away his origin story.

Flash let go, “You got it. You'll stay here for now.”

Wally smirked “Batman placed Mikey in my room.”

Flash rolled his eyes, “So stay in Robin’s room. I’m sure your best friend won’t mind.”

“I don't want to bother Mikey and I definitely don't want to talk about this,” Wally gestured to himself, his scars. “Can you ask Robin to get me a shirt or something so I don't have to say anything?”

Flash gave a quick nod, “Stay here.”

Wally grabbed his wrist, “Let me get a shirt from Robin before we tell Batman.” Flash nodded, slower.

He ran back, “Robin.”

Robin looked at the shaken speedster, “What's up?”

“Get Wally a shirt, he told me not to say more.”

Batman saw Flash’s expression and nodded, waving Robin away. Robin asked “Where's Wally?”

“Therapy room.” Flash didn't want to invite Canary before Wally was ready to talk. He added “Wally didn't want to wake up Michael.”

Robin nodded and left. He moved so quietly, only Superboy (super-hearing) and Miss Martian (telepathy) noticed him as he did what Flash asked. He saw Wally shirtless, “Dude what happened?”

Wally had dug his hole with Flash, might as well let Robin in on his secret, “16 years with my parents, before I got my speed mostly.”

Robin gave him the shirt from his room. Wally got put it on. Robin said “I can get you a long sleeve or a jacket.”

“Nah. I told Flash that we'd talk to Batman after I talked to you. Don't want to keep the Dark Knight waiting or leave Flash trying to keep a secret from the World's Greatest Detective.” Robin nodded and returned to the training room with Wally. The team saw Wally walk by in half his yellow uniform with scars on his arms. They left the living room but didn't join the group in the training room. Black Canary caught them and shut them down.

Batman saw the scars, Wally explained “From my parents. Just a few of the many.”

Flash said “I was thinking Wally could stay in Robin’s room while we work on getting him placed with me. We need to stop his parents.”

Wally mumbled “Search my room and the basement.”

Robin said “We’re not gonna use this as an excuse to dig through your stuff.”

Flash said “He gave me permission to look through his room and the basement, it was a suggestion not a worry.”

Batman told Flash “Start there.”

He told Robin “Let Wally into your room.”

He spoke up “Superboy, stop listening in.”

Robin lead Wally towards his room. Before leaving the room, Wally turned back to Batman “Look at the month following Jason’s funeral.” Might as well tell the so-called World’s Greatest Detective. “I mean Red Hood’s,” Why not clue in the Boy Wonder?

Heading to his room, Robin asked “How would you know who Red Hood is under the hood?”

Wally answered glumly, “You’ll find out in like 2 minutes when Flash finds out.” He forced a smile, “Thank you for everything, Dick.”

Wally closed the door, leaned against it and slid down. He’d just dug his own grave. Sure enough, Flash returned with Wally's Vigilante gear. By then Wally had resigned himself to his fate. Batman opened the door through an override code and marched Wally into a cell on the Watchtower. He didn't fight this series of events or argue when Batman told the team they were putting him under protective custody.

Something with Mikey made Wally ready to take Jason’s advice, give up being the Vigilante, and face society’s justice. He sat down on the bunk in his cell and waited to hear his sentence. They couldn't lock him up in Iron Heights or Belle Reve. He was too close to them. He knew too much about members of the Justice League. He knew them too well.

Flash visited Wally, after the League met to discuss the recent events, and went completely off book. He said “You still wanna do some good? Help us stop the man who’s been beating Mikey all these years. Walk a mile in Mikey’s shoes. Take a beating to get us a confession so we can get the right man this time.”

That's when Wally realized why Mikey’s presence affected him, “I killed an innocent man.”

Flash said “Mr. Jameson dug his own hole, his car was full of incriminating evidence. What's your answer?” Wally nodded.

Flash left, the door automatically locking behind him. He reported to Batman “He’ll do it. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Robin will prepare him, we’re getting this monster off the street tonight.” Batman turned to Flash, “How about you talk to Michael? Find out where the man lives.” Flash nodded once then disappeared.


	3. Maps

I heard the door open as Flash came in, he had a small projector with a map hologram and a meal tray. I thought he’d make me tell him where I came from for the food. I sat up as he came in and he tossed the meal tray onto my lap. He sat on the end of the bed, “There's more where that came from. You can have as much as you need.”

I couldn't lift my sore arms, “What kind of pills did Kid Flash give me?”

Flash answered “Pain medicine.”

“A, I wasn't in pain. B, I’m allergic to some medicine.” I snapped. The soreness spread, sore isn't the same sensation as pain.

Flash picked me up and I was vaguely aware of the food spilling. Not only did Kid Flash give me something I’m allergic to but he overdosed me. I didn't qualify for my age group with meds, I was tall enough for my age but severely underweight. Flash must've noticed as he carried me to a medical room, an infirmary.

I woke up to see Flash sitting on the bed beside mine, I groaned. Another figure approached, he said “Ten minutes, that's it.”

Flash explained “That’s Doctor Mid-Nite. He's giving us ten minutes to talk before he puts you under to set your bones and treat other injuries. You probably won't wake up again for a while. I promise we’ll catch the guy that did this tonight. Batman’s got a plan.”

I told him how I got to the precinct and he backtracked my journey on his holographic map. I told him when his map showed the right place, “He had her tied up. I think he was ready to dump her body when he sent me away.”

Flash left, passing Doctor Mid-Nite in the doorway. Doctor Mid-Nite said “You’re lucky to be alive, much less standing. And running is a flat-out miracle.”

I said “Flash said you were gonna set my bones and treat other injuries. Was he right? I know my bones never had time to heal right.”

Doctor Mid-Nite said “I’ll do my best. Your bones are closer to powder than I thought possible for living human beings.” He was honest.

I liked how he didn't treat me like a little kid and none of them hurt me. I was slowly grasping the idea that none of them were going to hurt me. He continued “Normally I’d give you a sedative in the form of an injection or gas through a breathing mask but you’re bones are in such bad condition those aren't options.”

“I’m allergic to some medicine,” I said.

“I’m aware. Analgesics, some companies use it in pain meds. It’s not a sedative.”

“How do my bones make gas impossible?”

“Putting the mask on would keep me from treating head injuries. I might miss your vein with the injection.”

“So what can you do?”

“Can you swallow? I’m going to have to give you oral anesthesia.”

“I ate at the precinct and I took the an all geez icks,” I sounded the word out. “Kid Flash gave me. Didn’t know it was the kind I’m allergic to.”

“Was the precinct the last time you ate?”

“Flash tried to give me food but I passed out, I think. So yeah, it was the last time I got food.”

“And before that?”

“Don't remember. I didn't get dinner the night before because I lied about why I went outside. I said I was running an errand he didn't tell me to run but I was just gonna get outta there. I was in the precinct from falling when I tried to leave again, on a real errand run this time,” I stumbled through the explanation. “Why?”

“I’m gonna put the sedative in food then.”

I relaxed on the infirmary bed as he spiked my food. Doctor Mid-Nite put a guiding hand on my back to help me sit up, gently holding me up as I ate. After I ate, he slowly lowered his hand, guiding me back down. In a weird way it felt good to feel pain, the heroes were surprised I didn't and appalled at the reason why. Doctor Mid-Nite just sat down on his wheeled chair and waited for the drugs to take me.


	4. Doctor Mid-Nite

Doctor Mid-Nite stepped out of the infirmary to find Flash swamped with holding back the team. Aqualad asked “How is Michael?”

“It’s hard to say. Until his bones heal, he’ll need to take oral anesthesia.”

Artemis said “He’ll have to wake up just to get knocked out. His bones are so bad you can't inject him or gas him.”

“At the moment, yes.”

Aqualad said “Perhaps one of us can stay with the boy, we will of course alert you to when he wakes up.”

Doctor Mid-Nite said “I appreciate the offer, Aqualad. If you don't mind spiking his food with the sedative, I think that will work. But only one of you at a time. I’ll measure out doses for whoever is going first.”

Everyone turned to Aqualad, “We’ll need to keep food he can eat that we can put the sedative in on hand and ready.”

Artemis said “I’ll go with M'gann to make the food.”

“If it is all the same to you, Superboy, I would like to take the first shift.”

Superboy shrugged, “I’m not sure I want to know how you mix sedative into a cheeseburger so I’ll help make the food, I don't want to drug the kid.”

Kaldur started towards the infirmary, Connor caught his wrist. He stopped and turned, “Is there anything else Superboy?”

“They think the kid has been, wherever he was, for 8 years. I didn't exist 8 years ago, neither did the team. Be careful what you say to him.”

Kaldur said “I will consult the doctor on what is acceptable so as not to stress Michael. Thank you, Superboy.”

Superboy nodded. “He couldn't name the guy that had him,” he mentioned before heading back to the common area.

Kaldur went into the infirmary. Doctor Mid-Nite was crushing pills, “I see you are taking the first shift.”

“Superboy does not wish to do the job of drugging Michael and the girls are working on the food. Miss Martian likes to cook, Artemis is helping make food that we can drug.” Kaldur delivered his report then said “Superboy raised a concern I had not considered. He pointed out that he, Miss Martian and Artemis were not active 8 years ago when Michael went missing. He told me to be careful what I say. Are there any topics to avoid when he awakens?”

“Just try not to stress him.”

“Do you think it would be wise to tell him our secret identities? I heard Flash was considering taking Michael in.”

“I leave that to you but perhaps he should at least meet the girls so they don't scare him when he wakes up during their shifts.”

“Understood.”

Doctor Mid-Nite stopped at the door, “Aqualad? Have you learned informal English?”

“You mean talk how other people talk.”

“It may be wise, just so he can feel more comfortable around you. He doesn't seem to like being treated like a little kid, just talk to him like a person.” Doctor Mid-Nite left Kaldur in the room.

Flash accompanied Doctor Mid-Nite to the Watchtower to deliver his report. Founders Superman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Batman were with Black Canary. Doctor Mid-Nite reported “His bones are closer to powder than I thought possible for living human beings. This prevents me from using typical methods of sedation. I fear a gas mask could harm his head and I’m more likely to inject into muscle or his bone cavity than a vein. Aqualad has volunteered to watch him and administer a sedative when he wakes up. The Team will take shifts and notify me when he wakes up. Superboy has chosen not to take a shift because he does not want to administer the sedative. I told them to administer the sedative through his food. Michael does not remember eating before the precinct. Though an IV is out of the question, he will need to receive nutrients along with the sedative.”

The heroes had the same concerns Artemis voiced, Doctor Mid-Nite said, “I cannot safely use traditional methods at this time.”

Black Canary backed him up, “An IV is the traditional method but Michael's bones must heal before Doctor Mid-Nite can even consider it. The strain of an IV on an arm with as much damage as Michael's will only do harm. You need to trust the doctor.”

Aquaman said “Kaldur can stay at the cave as long as needed. If he wants to stay until Michael is well, I will support that.”

Martian Manhunter asked “Is there any way I may be of assistance? Perhaps I can induce sleep so that Michael needs fewer doses of sedative.”

Doctor Mid-Nite said “I’d like to try my way first. Determining secondary injuries will be easier if he can wake up and report symptoms. Thank you, J’onn.”

Batman said “If you’d like to stay at the cave, J’onn, perhaps you can help the Team deal with the situation.”

Martian Manhunter nodded, “I will do that, Batman.” He and Aquaman left. Doctor Mid-Nite excused himself to do his rounds. Black Canary returned to Earth.


	5. Friends

I woke up to see one of the kids I’d seen when Kid Flash took me to his room. He stood up and retrieved a meal tray, “How do you feel?”

“Not much better. Who are you?”

“My name is Kaldur. I’m Aquaman’s sidekick, Aqualad.”

“Aqualad is your codename then.”

“Yeah.”

“So do you tell everyone your secret identity?”

“No,” Kaldur smiled, “I have Aquaman’s permission to tell you.” He sat me up to eat, my arms were still insanely numb so that was awkward. When he laid me back down, he said “There are other teen heroes, you’ll meet them later on. We're taking shifts watching you and administering sedatives.”

I met Artemis, both her codename and real name. I met Megan, she said her name weird then simplified it to the Earth version, claiming her codename was Miss Martian. When Robin took his shift, he told me Kid Flash wasn't getting a shift. He didn't tell me his real name like the others, some didn't wear costumes when they took their shift administering sedatives.

Eventually Doctor Mid-Nite gave me permission to leave the infirmary in a wheelchair, so I didn't put pressure on my still broken bones. I was wheeled into the living room, I think that's what you'd call the room with the couch and TV. No one was in costume. There wasn’t a lot of people so I knew the guy in the sunglasses was Robin. Apparently Batman forbade him from telling anyone his real name.

The boy in the black shirt with the red S looked nervous, he asked “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay. Who are you?”

“This is Superboy.” Kaldur explained, “He didn't want to have to sedate you.”

“Okay.”

Artemis came in and confronted Robin, “Where's Wally?”

“Wally?”

She turned to me surprised, guess she hadn't noticed me. Kaldur answered “Kid Flash.”

“Okay.”

Artemis said “You’re out of the infirmary.”

Robin said “Doctor Mid-Nite is letting him visit.” I nodded, tired of saying okay.

I like Artemis for the same reason as Mid-Nite, she didn't treat me like a little kid or hurt me like my old master. She was honest and without a filter. Wally interrupted, whatever her outburst was leading to, telling me we’d be brothers soon and Artemis moved my wheelchair so we could watch TV as friends. Flash came by after a while, Doctor Mid-Nite was close by so my excursion was probably coming to an end. Flash was with Martian Manhunter, he updated me on my case, “We have him on rape, attempted murder, child abuse and neglect.”

“How? I get my injuries give you child abuse but the other stuff, how?”

Flash explained “His last victim wasn't dead, I rushed her to the hospital and she pulled through.”

“She would've thought I was working for him.”

“Batman made it so we don't have to put you in a normal hospital and right now the League has custody for your special medical treatment. His last victim's statement over her time in his,”

“What she said happened while he had her.”

“Yeah,” Flash was relieved on some level. “She recounted abuse and his leaving you down there, mostly ignoring you, sounds like neglect. We just need numbers, how many times has he committed these crimes is what we need from you.”

“I don't know the numbers. Stuff happened a lot and a lot happened.”

Flash said “8 years is a long time.” A red blur then he was right in front of me with a glass of juice, I think it was.

Martian Manhunter spoke up, “That is unnecessary.” Flash backed off.

I asked “What's going on?”

Martian Manhunter said “I am going to look into your memory to find the answers we need. That is, with your permission.”

“Look into my memory?” I asked “Won't I just see everything I escaped all over again?”

Flash answered “I was trying to give you something to relax you for that.”

Martian Manhunter said “I can do this without forcing you to relive your trauma.”

Artemis translated “He wants your permission first. He can look at your memories without making you see it or giving you flashbacks. We can distract you while he does it but you don't have to say yes.”

I said “I actually understood that. Go ahead, like Artemis said.”

With a nod from Doctor Mid-Nite, Robin put a movie in. We watched it and I focused on the present so I wouldn't relive the nightmare living with the monster man was. When the movie was over, Doctor Mid-Nite took me back to my bed in the infirmary and started an IV.


	6. New Home

After Doctor Mid-Nite removed the IV and I woke up, I had dinner with the team in the cave then I stayed in Wally’s room that night. In the morning Wally took me to my new home. He introduced me to my new parents, his Aunt Iris and Uncle B. Barry rubbed his hand while Iris was hugging me, showing his Flash ring as a silent explanation. He said “Give the kid some air, we need to keep him out of the hospital for custody.”

Iris laughed at his joke and let go. Barry gave me a side hug as he and Wally showed me my room. Wally had his own room at the house because his aunt and uncle got custody of him a year before, and Kid Flash stuff, so I got the guest room. On the upside I got a bigger bed than Wally. Barry said “We’ll need to get you some new clothes and get you enrolled in school and stuff like that but at least we got a room ready.”

Wally said “It’s all yours.” Answering a question Barry didn’t think I'd ask.

I looked around. I got a big bed with generic bedding and a nightstand next to it with an alarm clock on it, a window across from the bed to the left of a desk. A closet next to the door. To the right of the desk was a dresser. It was a very simple room, they just converted their guest room. I’d gotten used to pain and neglect from the monster man. Then numb from being kept sedated but being around good people taught me friendship I’d never dreamed of and a kind of trust I’d never expected to be capable of. I smiled and Barry said “There’s some things we have to get through. Your official adoption for one and clothes shopping.”

I turned back to him, “What's there to do with the adoption?”

Barry said “Just a simple matter, let’s go back down to Iris.”

I followed them downstairs, “That was a guest room, right?”

Wally answered “Well, yeah but,”

“A lot better than those 8 years. I was just asking.”

“Right.”

I was so glad I was behind them because Iris tried a hug attack. Barry and Wally saved me from another bone breaking hug, my bones were still fragile enough that hugging me too tight would break them.

After my new brother and dad ended mom’s hug attack, we went to the living room. Wally took up an armchair, I sat on the couch between Iris and Barry. Barry cut to the chase, “We need to know if you wanna take our last name.”

“I don't remember anyone calling me Michael, I don't know my own name as it is.”

Wally said “It's Michael Dewey. Before you went missing, people called you Mikey. Barry Allen needs to know if you want to be his son or his ward so the right paperwork gets filed. As his ward, you’d keep the name Dewey and he’d be your guardian. As his son, you’d become Michael Allen.”

“I understood it that time. I didn't know the ward way existed, I just assumed adoption made me your son.”

Barry said “That answers that.”

I smiled and laughed “Next question?”

Barry said “Ready to get some new clothes, you’ve been wearing the same thing for a year.”

“Can't even tell.”

Wally laughed “Well, you were in a coma.”

Barry said “I got the day off from crime lab but we can swing by the precinct if you're up for giving an official statement.”

I glared at him, “I thought I did that with Batman before I went into a coma.”

“You did, your official statement means you swear what you told the League is the truth and that you said what they told us you did. Basically you swear your statement to Batman is the truth and he didn't lie about it.”

“Got it so swing by the precinct to say my statement is the truth.”

“Yeah.”

I followed him out the door, “I speak English perfectly fine.”

“I don't know what words you learned after you went missing in elementary school.”

“Elementary? Guess I didn't do the math.” I got in the backseat and we were off.

I followed them through the stores. Iris got a cart at the clothing store and lead us through the departments, grabbing random clothes that might fit. I tried stuff on in the changing room and put the best fits in our cart. Then Barry lead me back through the departments and made me choose clothes I like. We checked out. I had a bright, Flash red duffle bag and a dark, night sky blue backpack. Barry let me get them, the red bag for sports if I make a team or supplies if I join the hero business. Iris supported the sports idea more because Wally hospitalized himself to become Kid Flash and she did not want another repeat of Barry's  _ experiment _ . Next we went to a shoe store, I looked at the place like it was crazy. Barry said “Your shoes tore when they came off. We can’t avoid shopping.”

“I’m pretty sure I haven't been shopping like this since I was in elementary school so this is crazy new to me.” I gestured to the store.

An employee came over, “Need some help?”

Barry said “We’re good, it’s just been a long time since my son got new shoes.”

“Wouldn't be here if I didn't.”

“We’ll look around for a bit,” Barry pulled me away.

“Same routine as the last place? Find my size first.”

“Yeah but these places have a sizer.” He walked up to an employee, “Where's a shoe sizer?”

He said “Adult shoes, I’ll be right back.”

I asked “What was wrong with asking the girl at the door?”

“She's a salesgirl, if we have to come back to talk to her again that's two sales and more money for her. He’s a stock boy, no special pay for sales.” I saw what Barry meant, the man that had gone to get a sizer had been stocking the aisle.

The man came back, “Here.” He handed Barry a metal device.

We walked over to a bench. Barry said “Take your,” he examined the device and turned it around, “Left shoe off.”

I took off the shoe he point to and Barry set the device down, I put my foot in it. He moved something on the side then read it, “Size 10.”

“That big?”

“Lift your foot, I’ll show you something.” I did, he moved something on the other side of the sizer and said “Look at that, about a 7 in women’s size. Men’s shoes sizes are bigger.”

“Oh.” I looked at my broken shoe, “So do I just walk around the store with one shoe?”

Barry said “Your choice.” His voice was on the kind side of neutral.

“Right.” I followed him into an aisle that was all sneakers.

Barry grabbed a dark blue shoe, “How’s this?”

I sat on a bench in the aisle and he grabbed a pair in my size, giving me the left one after he emptied it. I looked at it, same blue as my backpack. “I like them,” I tried the left on, “They fit fine.”

He squeezed my toes, “Just double checking. I honestly wanted your opinion A men’s size 8 would fit better than those old shoes. Go ahead and put the other one on so you can break ‘em in.”

“Break ‘em in?” I was a bit suspicious. I lived with a psycho for half my life, he was lucky I wasn’t trying to strangle him as soon as he said break.

Barry realized his mistake, “When shoes are new they’re stiff. Break ‘em in means get used to them and get rid of the stiffness.”

“Oh, right, right.” I looked at my right foot, “What about these shoes?”

“I’ll put ‘em in the box and let them know at checkout that you’re wearing the new ones out. Go ahead and put the new right shoe.” He tossed my loaner shoe in the box and gave me my right shoe.

I put new blue one on, “I don’t care about stiffness, this is much better than those tiny shoes.” He smiled. I voiced my opinion to him which was huge with my history of fearing adult men, I had good reason for that fear.

Barry closed the box my new shoes came in with my old torn shoes in it then asked me, “Wanna get some gym shoes or boots? Just to get it out of the way.”

“Why do I need special shoes for gym?”

Barry lead me into another aisle, “So you don’t wear these out when you run laps.” He grabbed a red shoe, “You like red and blue, right?”

I shrugged “Yeah.”

He grabbed a size ten box and I sat down, “Try these.” I untied my left shoe and tried the red sneaker on. He continued explaining “Shoes like these are made for gym and sports so they don’t wear out as easily. Your other shoes are usually more comfortable.”

I nodded, “These fit good. So once I break them in, they won’t wear out like my old shoes but the blue shoes are more comfortable once I break those in. Got it.” I changed back into my blue shoes after Barry pinched my toes to make sure they fit right. “Do I really need boots?”

“Nah, I guess not. Wally and I have boots but we don’t use them much.”

“Alright. Ya think we spent enough time here?” He looked at me like he had no idea what I meant, “The adoption papers? We’re here while Iris files them. Think she’s done? Might be a bit before I get used to the idea of new parents but I don’t see a point being adopted as a ward.”

Barry said “Only one way to find out if we’ve spent enough time. Let’s check out and look for her.”

The salesgirl was at the checkout counter, when she scanned the box my blue shoes came in Barry said “He’ll be wearing those home. His other shoes were borrowed from his brother.” She looked at my feet over the counter and tried to sell us socks. I didn’t understand Barry’s concern with letting her get the sizer for us until she did that. Barry politely declined and paid for my shoes. Both pairs were on sale, I liked them more than the vibrant colors and styles or the mostly plain black/white pairs I saw. I’m not his son yet and he knows me pretty well, not even out of the infirmary for a week and he already knows my taste in clothes pretty well. I carried the bag.

Barry lead me to the car, Iris got out as I stared at the empty backseat, “I swung by the house and Wally carried the clothes in. Glad I beat you out.” Barry opened the door for me and I put the bag down. Iris saw my blue sneakers, “Those what you picked?”

Barry said “I grabbed them for him, they were on sale and I guessed right on the color.”

I said “Also got some red gym shoes, Barry explained why I need gym shoes but I still don’t get why anyone needs two pairs. Looked like some people buy shoes to buy shoes. I guess I’ll learn when I rejoin the normal world.”

Barry smiled “No such thing in our family.”

“I meant school.”

“Oh. I guess that’s also something new for you.”

“Not new, you said I was in Wally’s class 8 years ago. So what’s next on adoption day?”

“8 years is half your life.”

“Are you counting my coma? You still haven’t told me my birthday, my age, my middle name, my parent’s names, anything really about the Dewey family. All I know is my name is Michael Allen and I went missing 8 years ago. Oh and before I went missing I was in Wally’s class in elementary school. I might need to know a few more things about me before I restart school.”

Barry said “Well, most of that stuff will come with your adoption. They’ll issue a new birth certificate, officially making you Michael Allen and your adoption certificate will state your age.”

“Alright. So what’s next for move-in day?”

Iris said “Lunch.”

I followed Barry around the car as Iris got back in the driver’s seat, we got our seatbelts on and she pulled down a lever. As she pulled out, Iris said, “I know this great place. You’ll love it.”

I said “I’m sure it’ll be great. Food is probably not spiked with sedatives so it’s already different from most of the meals I remember having. Most, not all. I don’t think my dinner last night had a sedative in it.”

Iris smiled, “That was a medically induced coma when they couldn’t get an IV in your arm.”

“I know what it was, I’m just saying it’s not hard to beat what the last people I lived with did.”

Wally said “We get it.” I jumped in my seat, somehow I put a bag in the backseat and didn’t notice the redhead sitting there.

Barry said “Didn’t notice you sitting there.”

Wally laughed, “And I wasn’t even trying to hide.”

“Hiding in plain sight,” I stated.

After lunch Barry and Wally chose to go home, or on patrol as Flash and Kid Flash. Iris took me to a big store, telling me to get stuff to decorate my room if I wanted anything and went grocery shopping. Once she got me to stop following her, because I was just following my new parents through stores instead of looking around myself, I wandered off and explored. That’s when I found some Justice League posters and Flash merchandise. I figured Wally had any Flash toys or stuff I could want, being a fanboy is a perfect cover for being a sidekick. So I focused on the Justice League posters, I found a really cool poster of the League together with like fog. Flash was kneeling and Superman was floating over the fog and everyone on it was acting normal yet posing at the same time. I found it rolled up and looked around for other Justice League stuff but it seemed the store had mostly Flash and Rogues’ themed stuff. It was interesting to see how people made money off making fun of villains, I mean the Rogues’ stuff wasn’t plentiful and I wasn’t seeing it as making money off the villains but it was funny how the stuff made the villains look and then see how glorious the Flash stuff made the hero look. I grabbed a Kid Flash action figure then looked for the sports section. I didn’t know what they had and didn’t have at the house because I was only there for three minutes but Wally wasn’t really athletic so I assumed not a lot of sports stuff.

I looked around for a basket rack or something to put stuff in and nearly wandered out of the store before someone realized I was lost. An employee stopped me from setting off the shoplifting alarms and pointed me in the right direction, I asked him where the sports section was before getting a basket and going back. I got a football and soccer ball before Iris found me. Iris said “You’re really interested in sports.”

“I’m interested in not being like Wally, I wanna play some sport and get a scholarship that way. I’m not gonna be able to catch up and get A+ in everything.” I grabbed a bat, “Plus athletes are strong and almost any sport will give me something to hit or kick that won’t land me in jail.” I put a baseball in my basket.

Iris said “Sound logical. Any interest in wrestling? That’ll give you an excuse to spend a lot of time lifting weights and getting stronger.”

“I think Wally could be good at sports too, he’s stronger than he lets on and we both know he can run fast. Football or basketball, those could be his sports. If he can keep his grades up and pull off sports, colleges will be fighting for him. He won’t have to pay a penny, you won’t either.” I asked “Think he’d try out for either?”

“Maybe.” Iris took stock of my basket, “So a poster, an action figure and sports equipment? I don’t think you understand the concept of decorating your bedroom.”

“I don’t, that’s why I was following you through the store.”

“Follow me.”

I asked “Is there any sports stuff at your house?”

She looked at my basket again and picked up the Kid Flash action figure “Not sports stuff but Wally has pretty much everything Flash.”

“I noticed Flash’s villains had action figures but this place doesn’t sell Batman or Superman toys.” She tried to grab the poster, “That’s not Flash, it’s Justice League.” She let go, “And even if Wally has a Kid Flash action figure, we have different rooms.”

Iris said, “I know but there’s no reason to keep your stuff separate. Are you actually interested in all three sports or do you think Wally should try out?”

“I’m not interested in baseball, I don’t know why I grabbed stuff for it. I think Wally should try football or basketball but I didn’t see a hoop and you said you don’t have sports stuff so buying a basketball is kind of stupid but football is something either of us could be good at. As for the soccer ball, not gonna try out for the soccer team but there’s no harm in kicking a ball around outside in the off season or summer.”

“Wow, I don’t think any 7 year old talks like that. You did learn things other than fear and pain.”

“I coulda killed him at any time. Those stories the kids told about me killing my dad, they were exaggerated but true. My dad died under suspicious circumstances. They were suspicious because my mom reported the murder before it happened. She helped me cover it up.” I sat down, “I have a metagene. My dad got a little drunk or rough, I don’t know. He did something, it set me off and next thing I know I killed him. Mom helped me cover it up but it wasn’t exactly something that was easily explained away as an accident so we had to put the body somewhere my dad shouldn’t have been so it’d look like an accident and I wouldn’t be taken wherever supervillains go. She reported his death because she was ready to protect me after he lost all sense.”

“I don’t understand,” Iris sat next to me, “I mean I understand what you’re saying that you killed him but I don’t understand how that transfers to taking out an experienced killer. He had you terrified, you didn’t have a choice.”

“I coulda stopped him, I coulda killed him,” I was crying.

Iris said “No you couldn’t have. Whatever you can do, it doesn’t change the fact that he knew how to kill and he would’ve killed you if you tried anything.” She cradled my head and somehow soothed me. I stood up from the bottom shelf after a few minutes, Iris got up after me. I put the football in the cart and she said “Let’s get some stuff to decorate your room, other than the Justice League poster and a Kid Flash action figure.” I put the stuff in her cart.

Iris lead me to the bedding aisle, “Pick something you like then we’ll pick up some school supplies.”

I almost went with one of my two favorite colors because I like dark blue and I don’t have an opinion on stuff then I saw a Rogues’ bedding set that looked kinda cool so I decided to keep looking. I found a blanket that had Batman and Superman on it, I’d only met a handful of Justice Leaguers, plus it looked cool so I went with that bedding. Iris was patient while I looked around, I guess Barry was patient shoe shopping too and for a speedster he was incredibly patient the whole day. Iris smiled a little, “Good choice.” She turned the cart around, “I’m guessing generic notebooks and stuff will be fine.”

“Do they have the,” she turned around and I gestured to the Rogues’ bedding, “That,”

She cut me off “Those are villains.”

“Then why is there more stuff with them on it than Batman?”

“They’re the Flash’s villains.”

That made no sense, “Does that mean I can get Joker themed bedding in Gotham?”

“It’s complicated,” she knew more than most, being the Flash’s wife. “Look, let’s just go look at notebooks. If you find one with the Rogues on it you like, you can get it.”

“Thank you.” I found three Rogues’ themed notebooks I liked and one folder with the Rogues versus the Flash on it.

Iris kept her promise, letting me get them and even told me the Rogues’ names. “Captain Cold, Mirror Master and Weather Wizard,” at least she told me what the Rogues on my notebooks were. She said “Barry and Wally just might both have a heart attack when they see your choices.”   
“Barry knows I like these, I got a few T-shirts with them on it. One showed the Flash dead.”

“You got the Kid Flash action figure as a joke, didn’t you?”

“I saw Wally had a lot of Flash stuff in his room, he might as well have red walls.”

Iris smiled, “The T-shirts had Flash and the Rogues on them.”

“So does the folder.”

“Barry probably thought you liked seeing Flash versus the Rogues.”

“Weather Wizard’s powers are pretty cool.”

“It’s better to cheer for the Flash.”

“It’s normal you mean and I’m not planning on rooting against him. I just think the Rogues look kinda cool. It’s just looks cool, I’m not gonna join a gang or anything.”

“I know,” she was laughing at this point and it occured to me she was joking when she started this argument.

Iris came home and Wally immediately went through the bags, helping Barry carry them in only so he could keep snooping. Took the two less than 20 seconds to get all of the bags in and Wally less than 15 to unpack the groceries. My notebook selections were on the table before I got out of the car. By the time I got in the house, Barry was already upset with me. Maybe Iris wasn’t joking when she said he’d have a heart attack.

I asked “Why are those on the table?”

Barry asked “Why’d you pick the villains?”

“I like how they look, it has nothing to do with what side they chose. If the store had Martian Manhunter, I might’ve picked up some of those but they had more villains than Leaguers.”

Barry took that answer, “Right because they’re the Flash’s villains.”

“What does that even mean? Doesn’t the League? Isn’t Flash in the Justice League? Aren’t they his team? What does that even mean?”

Wally answered “It means the Rogues live and work here. We don’t have nearly as many crisis that involve the Justice League as say Metropolis. We just have the Rogues, they’re the Flash’s villains which means people see them more than the Justice League.” He ate a banana while he explained this.

“So why are those bad?”

Wally asked “Do you even know who they are?”

“I know their names. Wally, we’re the same age. Were the Rogues a thing 8 years ago?”

Barry asked “What do you know that we don’t?” Iris was shocked by this change in him. I didn’t answer so he rephrased, “Did you ever meet the Rogues in those 8 years you were,”

“Missing? Kinda. I think. At least one of them interrupted a deal the, whatever he was, was working on. They attacked the deal and I got in trouble because I did nothing.” I rubbed my neck where the dog collar often was.

Barry turned from cold questioning to concerned dad, “That dog collar we found in the basement.”

I looked at him and suddenly he didn’t feel like finishing that sentence. I answered anyway, “Yeah. That was one of his nicer punishments. Lock the collar around my neck and let me spend about a week wearing it. I mean, I don’t really know how much time I had it on for, it’s just a guess.”

Barry cut me off with a hug, “Never again.”

“Isn’t he gonna be executed?”

Barry looked at Iris and Wally then released me from the hug, “Yes.”

While I was in between hugs, I grabbed my notebooks and took them up to my room. I came back downstairs after adding them to the other notebooks. I asked “When do I go to the precinct to validate my statement?”

Barry said “Tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Because I have work tomorrow so we can kill two birds with one stone so to speak. You can validate your statement and I can take you out to lunch. But remember, you’re not validating your statement, you’re giving your official statement. The League turned over the evidence you gave us and your official statement will confirm you gave us the evidence. I’ll talk to the detective tomorrow and he’ll walk you through it.” Barry was sitting on the couch and I sat down beside him to watch TV. Wally showed me the essential locations in the house: bathrooms, bedrooms (don't wander in on them naked), kitchen (snacks), garage (sports stuff and yard chores).

 


	7. Watchtower

When the boys were asleep, Iris told Barry, “Call Bruce.” The Family Rule drove Batman nuts sometimes, it means that when a member of the League gets married they can tell their spouse his secret. It also means that the League can take certain measures to ensure that their secret identities are safe in said spouse’s hands. Iris can’t leverage the League’s secret identities and if she leaves Barry she won’t remember Bruce Wayne is Batman.

Flash took Iris to meet Batman in a secure room on the Watchtower, Iris didn’t waste any time, “You knew Michael killed his father. The suspicious circumstances around his death was Michael’s mom reported the murder before it happened because she was ready to protect Michael. He has a metagene, you knew he killed his father.”

Flash asked “What are his powers?”

Iris stood close to Flash, “Barry, I love you but you are never going to ask that question again, understand?”

Flash said “Yes.” Suddenly being close to Batman looked appealing and he was there.

Batman said “Michael has a metagene. That explains how he survived 8 years.”

Iris sat down at the table, “What exactly do you know about those 8 years that you kept off the record?”

Flash told Batman, “If she has to look for the answers, she’ll report them and turn the public against us.” Superman’s wife would do the same thing, it was always on the table.

Batman said “Martian Manhunter did a mental sweep to determine the exact quantity of crimes Michael was a witness to. He can tell you exactly what Michael went through if you really want to know.”

“Did you know his mother helped him cover up the crime because she thought he’d be labeled a supervillain if the truth was found?”

That caught Batman, “Just how much did he tell you?”

“How much do you know?”

Batman sighed, he was starting to hate reporter wives of Leaguers. “I know he cried when pinned to a wall because he knew that would save his life.”

“I was thinking you’d know more Barry. Do you know what the dog collar was for?”

“He collared both his rape victims and Michael to the wall in the basement.”

“He also made Michael take part in all his crimes.”

Flash asked “How do you know?”

“He had a breakdown in the sports department. Then what he told us when you and Wally went through all the bags.”

“Wally,”

“Didn’t question him about choosing villain themed notebooks.”

Flash sat down, ceding the point. Batman picked up where he’d left off, “He feels just as responsible for the crimes as the man who made him commit them. That’s how you know.”

“No, Bruce. He feels responsible for not killing the man and letting him kill more people. He must’ve buried the memory of killing his dad. Now with everyone focusing on the last 8 years he’s trying to remember his life before those years and guess what’s come up?”

“The memory of killing his father has been dug up by Michael trying to escape the trauma of the last 8 years.”

“Primarily because he’s trying to escape how everyone treats the trauma by telling him to move on then asks him about the trauma. I’m not a psychologist but that’s my opinion.” By now Flash was thinking about Barry’s caseload because Iris and Batman scared him then lost him.

Batman said “I’m not sure what a psychologist would say but I believe that’s sound reasoning. I’ll talk to Canary, she’ll be handling Michael’s trauma therapy with your permission.”

“Sounds great, this way he doesn’t have to skip over the year he was in League custody or tell her what happened because she’ll be able to make the connections herself. So is there anything you knew that Flash didn’t?”

“Martian Manhunter may have mentioned a few things he didn’t want to tell Flash.”

“I look forward to talking to him.” Iris turned to leave, “Earth to Flash.”

Batman nudged him and Flash was in front of the door, “Busted.”

“Yeah.”

Batman met Superman in the hall, “So you met with Iris?” Trying and failing to act casual.

“She knows more than we did. I need to check some footage from a department store, make sure to erase all evidence.”

“Erase evidence?”

Batman sighed, “Erase evidence of Michael’s breakdown. Michael told Iris that he killed his own father. Our case hinges on proving Michael was forced to commit atrocious acts and making him look like another victim instead of an accomplice.”

Superman verified, “So you’re going to erase evidence that Michael killed before he was taken?”

“Yes.”

Superman asked “Need any help? Don’t stores usually keep hard copies that police can seize with a warrant, or simply get with permission after a robbery?”

Batman paused and looked at Superman, “I didn’t think you’d be on board with this.”

Superman hung his head, “I don’t want the monster that tormented Michael to get away with everything he’s done just because Michael blames himself for his father’s death. Wasn’t Michael like 6 when his pa died?”

Batman continued walking to a computer terminal, “He told Iris that he has a metagene and he lost control. No offense Superman but I’m going to ask someone with a little more stealth experience to steal the tapes if it gets that far. At the moment I’d like to know exactly what he said to Iris.”

Superman said “Best of luck to you,” and left Batman alone. He’d learned to take Batman’s not so subtle hints.

Batman called Martian Manhunter to meet him, Batman explained “I talked to Iris West and she wants to know details about her son's 7 years in Hell. I told her you did a mental sweep and told me things you were keeping from the Flash. She may turn to you for answers.”

Martian Manhunter said “Thank you. Are you telling me I should not give Iris the answers she seeks?”

“That’s up to you. Right now I’m going to check on Michael’s breakdown, she said he told her he killed his father. I want to know the context of his confession and what came with it.”

Martian Manhunter asked “Are you okay, Batman? You’re not acting like yourself, you’re being too open.”

Batman stopped typing, he sighed. No real point lying to a telepath, “This case hit all of us hard. I don’t believe any of us have the right to act like ourselves where Michael’s 7 years of Hell are concerned.” His use of the word Hell and the fact that he didn’t just brush J’onn off spoke volumes.


	8. Training

At lunch, Wally drove me to Barry’s precinct. Actually drove, in a car. I doubted either Wally or Barry could do such a thing after all the driving Iris did. Wally was on summer vacation, he voluntarily drove me if for nothing else than something to do. He walked me into the precinct and straight to the detective Barry mentioned the night before. The man introduced himself as Detective Frye, I shook his hand and he took me to an interview room where he told me to take a seat. I sat down in the chair, “Not my first time, just my first time with solid bones.”

Detective Frye said “This is really just a matter of following procedure.”

“Everything I told the Justice League was true, I think they gave you the evidence after they caught the man.”

Detective Frye said “Actually I just need you to sign a paper, with your statement on it.”

“Statement, you mean what I told Batman. I think that started his investigation.”

Detective Frye put a paper in front of me and a pen from his coat pocket, “If everything on there looks right then sign.” He made it very simple, I was actually complicating things. The statement put together what I told the League in the past year and what Martian Manhunter got from looking at my memories. I read it, the legal terms protecting me from flashbacks, and signed. Detective Frye said “Thank you and we’re done.” He got the door for me on the way out and Barry was waiting for me with Wally. They took me out to lunch, we dropped Barry off at the precinct and Wally took me home. I joined him when he went to Mount Justice (the cave place). He went there to train and even though I wasn’t allowed to train I joined him because I had nothing else to do.

I watched them  _ train _ and chuckled lightly but apparently everyone noticed. Artemis confronted me first “What’s so funny?”

“I could kill you all with a butter knife if this is all you know about fighting but we learned for different reasons and you don’t kill.”

Kid Flash asked “How do you kill a Kryptonian with a butter knife?”

Black Canary, their trainer, apparently didn’t get the memo I wasn’t supposed to get involved until Flash got permission from Doctor Mid-Nite to sign off on it. She said “If you think you can handle a fight, let’s see what you’ve got.”

I gladly entered the ring, “Alright.” They thought I was just crazy ot cocky and decided they’d take me down a few pegs.

Superboy had absolutely no restraint when it came to fighting, he fought like an animal. I soon answered Wally’s question by maneuvering Superboy so his momentum sent him into a wall, “Get ‘im to do that at full speed a few times and you got a dead Kryptonian.”

Wally was wary of me now, Artemis was just pissed. She fired off some arrows but I was already moving when she released the bowstring, “You trying to kill me?” The arrows detonated as they missed their mark. I pushed her out of the white holographic tiles and a little sign on the floor said Artemis fail. “You fight for fun,” I said stating what I honestly thought.

Robin was on my back but now I knew I didn’t have to beat him, just take him out of the ring. I grabbed his cape and whipped him around with my considerable strength, I’d moved people bigger than me with a broken skeleton multiple times. Robin would’ve had to break my neck to hold on and that would’ve gone against the superhero handbook. He flew out of the ring (I guess it’s a ring) and Superboy barely caught him before he slammed into the top of the Zeta tubes (which is what the tube things are called). Artemis was still pissed and now Superboy even more so but Canary stepped between me and Artemis as Aqualad and Kid Flash tried to gang up on me, each taking a side and trying to push me over. I pressed down on my feet to hold my ground then I let them make me bend over and kicked forward with both feet when they almost had me. The way I did it and they acted, you’d think I’d actually been trained. Their momentum hit them like a truck and their grasp cushioned my fall as I fell on them. Obviously both of their names came up with the word fail.

Black Canary stepped forward, “Impressive until that last response.”

“I know, I didn’t have to let them push me over so much but I also know it hurts a lot more because they did. I got tricked early on in those 7 years and he almost crushed me.”

Batman showed up while Robin was freaking out over how easily I beat them. Robin finally managed a sentence, “What did you need a butter knife for?” Just as Batman was passing him.

I skirted away to the side of the cave where my cot once was, “I said I could kill you all with a butter knife. I didn’t say I needed one to win a fight and I never had one in that match.”

Batman glared at me then at Black Canary. I saved her from whatever Batman was going to do because she wasn’t supposed to let me train, “I said I could kill them all with a butter knife and I walked into the, ring or whatever that is, to prove it. This is probably the first time I’ve fought for something other than my life. Won’t happen again. By the way I won without the butter knife.”

Batman did not take kindly to that, “I was of the impression you had been a forced accomplice.” No he wasn’t but that was the official story so he was probably just reminding me.

“7 years is a long time and it would’ve been longer if I didn’t defy him. Maybe he would’ve gone full supervillain, trying to take over the world so he doesn’t have to worry about the authorities ‘cause they serve him. Maybe he would’ve turned into another one of your villains. Guess we’ll never know because I did defy him and I wound up alerting you to his activities. What exactly do you think I did for 7 years before I tried to run away? Do you think I did nothing and just feared him so much that I helped him get away with murder? Clearly you don’t understand a thing about those 7 years except maybe there were 7 of them and what his basement looked like after they were over.”

Everyone looked like I was expressing a death wish but I knew by that time that Leaguers had a no killing rule. Yay me, just took almost a year to realize Batman wasn’t gonna kill me. What happened next surprised them even more, “You have a point.” Batman admitting I was right when I insulted him, can’t get much more shocking than that. “Only Martian Manhunter knows what you went through. But I do know that you at least played the victim.”

“I did no such thing. I tried to run away twice in 24 hours. Me from 2 years in would’ve called me crazy for that. I’m honestly surprised I was alive enough to try the second time.” I slowed down, “I’m mentally healthy, am I?” Trying to figure out how to phrase ‘Am I crazy’ without getting coddled by Canary.

Batman said “7 years is a long time. An impaired mental state is to be expected.”

“Because it’s 7 years of trauma from your perspective,” who said that? It sounded like my but I didn’t know two of those words very well.

“Yes.”

“Great. Can you explain that to me because I’m not sure I understand what I just said?”

Black Canary stepped in, “I’ll explain it to you in therapy.” I must’ve looked very surprised because she explained, “Your parents have given me permission to treat you for those 7 years of trauma.”

“I don’t know what the last word means or perspective, two words I don’t know but I think I used them.” Black Canary lead me away for my first therapy session.


	9. Therapy

Kid Flash said “So he’s crazy?”

Batman said “7 years of trauma, as you know, can cause mental illness.” Kid Flash quickly shut his trap when Batman turned his words against him. Since learning of Kid Flash’s trauma Artemis had stopped picking on him.

Batman began the briefing with Kid Flash’s solo mission, he pulled up the mission details and said “Kid Flash.” Since learning what he could do and after he completed his psychological treatment, Batman took advantage of Kid Flash’s skill and the Vigilante’s anonymity to assign him more difficult missions.

Kid Flash activated his stealth tech, looked over the mission and waved Batman off, “Yeah, yeah. No killing, keep it covert.” Then he was gone. The Team was jealous of Kid Flash for getting the harder missions. They understood one person made a better spy than 5 people tripping over each other and Batman wouldn’t give them busy work missions unless they started acting like 5 year olds.

Black Canary stumbled in after Kid Flash left. That distracted everyone, including Batman so he couldn't get mad at them. I walked in after her, not as familiar with the place as someone who spent a year in a place should be. I heard someone ask ‘What happened?’ I don't know who because they were all concerned over Black Canary’s behavior.

I answered whoever asked, “I think I scared her.”

Artemis asked “How are you fine?”

“Practice,” I shrugged.

Batman pointed to the Zeta tubes, silently ordering me to leave. Black Canary was already heading that way. I went through and was faced with a dilemma: no phone, no money and I don't know my new parents’ numbers if I had either. I just got to walking, recognizing that I was in Central so not too far. I didn't know which gem city I’d been beamed to at first. Flash’s day job was a Central City CSI so to keep it close, the Zeta thing wasn't in the worst neighborhood I’d ever seen and it was in Central not Keystone City. Soon I was back at the precinct I’d met him for lunch at, I went inside and waited for cops with the Rogues to pass before approaching the front desk, “Is Barry Allen still here?”

The cop at the desk smirked, “Who are you?”

“His son, Michael Allen. I need a ride back home.”

The cop said “Barry's a bit of a workaholic.”

I nodded, “So I need another another ride home?”

The cop said “Go on up.”

Detective Frye saw me, “Looking for Barry?”

He was on his way out but I still walked over to him, “Yeah. I was with Wally and his friends but I lost track of them.”

Detective Frye told me what floor the crime lab is on and I went there to find Barry. The desk cop was right, he wasn't leaving work unchained. He was at his desk, not in the lab area, so I walked over to him and knocked on the desk. He said “I’ll have the report on your desk first thing tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Allen!”

Barry spun around, “Director Singh.”

“Who is this?”

“I’m Michael Allen, his adopted son.”

Director Singh said “Clock out, Barry.”

I followed Barry around, all the way to his car. Dinner was kinda tense. Wally heard about Black Canary, said she went into a catatonic state. I told my family what I told Wally’s team, I think I scared her and they had the same shocked reaction. Wally realized why things were more awkward at home than at the cave, they didn't walk on eggshells around me at the cave, and we played some one-on-one football. That eased the building tension before Wally and I went to our rooms for the night.

Barry ran me to Oliver Queen's place in Star City. “Green Arrow.” He was unsurprised Barry told me. “Barry didn’t tell me. You're too calm after a speedster dropped a teen on your doorstep, you look like Green Arrow and I’m guessing you need a lot of money to maintain your quiver.”

Oliver said “You’re a lot smarter than people give you credit for.” He waved me into his mansion.

I said “I’d like to try to get a sports scholarship instead of going to college through any programs my past 7 years qualify me for. I don't expect to catch up enough to get an A+ in everything but I expect to be enrolled in high school which means I’ll have to qualify for an honorary graduation certificate from elementary and middle school. I’m not going to be the world's oldest 3rd grader.”

Oliver said “Seems like you know what you want.”

“I don't wanna be 23 when I finish middle school.”

“Right.”

“I don't know what I want to go to college for or anything like that. Just wanna skip middle school and part of elementary.”

“You're too mature for high school. You’re not a teenager, you just look like one.” He turned to our server, “Thank you, Rosa.”

“What'd they call it? 7 years in Hell. I’m surprised no one's insisting on a court appointed therapist. If it was up to the courts, I'm sure I’d be seeing one of theirs. Or maybe a child psychologist that would try to baby me because I was a little boy 8 years ago.”

Oliver said “You’re right. The courts would appoint a shrink if they had a say but they don't have a say. You have the only say as far as I’m concerned.”

“It’s not like I’m trying to bury it, I just don't want to hurt anyone with it. Dinah said that I could tell her the truth and she would help me deal with it. I told her about one year and now people are saying she went into a catatonic state.”

Oliver said “I’ll listen. You have a lot of people who will listen. Consider what happened with Dinah a learning experience. Now you know to pace yourself and not try to put it all out there at once. I’m not a psychologist but I think I can help a little. Maybe I can show you some moves in the dojo so you can really embarrass the Team.”

I nodded and ate my breakfast. We went a few rounds, I used some of my strength and he taught me some martial arts. During a break, I said “I learned for survival.”

Oliver said “I understand that.”

I nodded “The island.”

He asked “How'd you know about that? I thought you were.”

I held up his phone “I don't have a phone yet. I understand it's not like bedding, it’s more expensive.” He swiped his phone, “I still don’t know what a socialist or philanthropist is.” I sounded out philanthropist.

“I’m a,” Oliver stopped before saying paradox. “Socialists believe there shouldn't be a lower class. I’m into equal opportunity, rich kids shouldn't have better educations. People think my socialist views are funny because I grew up rich. A philanthropist is someone involved in philanthropy, we contribute to charity. Most just donate a lot of money. Bruce Wayne get places named in honor of his parents. Thomas Wayne free clinic, Martha Wayne wing of a museum and his philanthropy is almost exclusively done in Gotham. The Wayne Foundation handles the philanthropy, Bruce's the face of all things Wayne.”

“And your philanthropy?”

“I spread my involvement very wide. I actually went broke once, rebuilt my fortune and still invest more in philanthropy than I do in marketing*. As a socialist I’m an activist. Y’know it's kinda funny,  I’m a rich guy who takes part in something that’s a lot about getting rid of rich and poor. I've opened shelters, named after my mom, and all kinds of charity but I do it as socialist Oliver Queen not Bruce Wayne of the Wayne Foundation and Wayne Enterprises. I’m involved in what I do, I don't just throw money at charity.”

“Sounds saintly?”

“I try. I don't give up and that's what all human superheroes do, fight the odds and never give up. I just do it in all aspects of my life.”

“You just don't give up. How did we get talking about your bid for sainthood?”

“You broke into my phone, mind sharing how?”

I held out my hand and showed him the hardware flaw in his Queen name brand smartphone. He took it back, “Smart kid.” He looked at me, “Come with me.”

We went to his corporate headquarters. I fixed some buggy tech. I couldn't see what was so hard about finding the flaws. I don't code so when he gave me a software problem I just explained the cause and effect of the problem’s origin for the people he paid to perfect it. We worked our way through some R&D labs then he picked up a phone they were waiting to release on his way to his office. In his office he arranged for security to give the R&D people the footage of my fixing their tech then he gave me the prototype smartphone, “Here. Test that for me. Payment for your help.”

“Thanks,” I accepted then told him, “It was all pretty simple fixes, they were probably overthinking it.”

“That overthinking would have set my company back months, maybe years and wasted millions. I can now put that money to good use where it’s needed and you need a phone. I’ll take care of the bill, just let me know about any bugs so we don't have to recall them next year after the release. That prototype is untraceably new.”

“I said thank you.” Oliver let me drink soda in his office and play on my new phone while he dealt with CEO business. We spent a few hours at Queen Consolidated before heading back to the Queen estate.

The afternoon was pretty chill, though we talked in his home office. I told him some of the ways I saw other kids tortured to death as punishment, he killed them on accident then called their deaths a warning. I was his favorite because I didn't screw up as much as the others. He'd collar me to the basement wall and give me a blanket at night while the other kids were treated as little more than prey he’d captured. Oliver interrupted me when I told him about the psycho playing favorites, “That was your self-preservation. I know a thing or two about feeling guilty for surviving. Most superheroes do.”

I said “Let me finish. It came down to a few of us. He was tired of dealing with all of us so he gave me a knife and that's when it became fight to survive.”

“You said you could kill the Team with a butter knife,” Oliver drew a connection. “I’m guessing you won.”

“The other boys were unarmed and he didn't care about them so I was in the best condition. I could've given one of them the knife or not used it,”

Oliver interrupted “He turned you on pure survival instinct. It was kill or be killed and as much as you hated how he treated you, you didn't want to die. I’m not saying it’s not your fault. All I’m saying is you weren't thinking, you were running on instinct. You're thinking now but when it happened you were afraid of how he’d react and you wanted to survive. It was survival not living. For your 7 years in the hands of a psycho and my time on the deserted island we were surviving. Now we’re living.”

I said “Right. When Barry took me to get new shoes, I had to wear the new pair out because mine broke when I took them off.”

“Really? I wonder how the doctor treated your broken feet.”

“I wonder how he turned powder to bone at all.”

“Right. Wanna keep going? Or watch some mindless TV?”

“TV.”

“Alright.”

We watched TV until Barry picked me up, Oliver said “Drop him off anytime.”

At dinner, I pulled out my new phone and Wally identified it almost immediately. I said “Oliver gave it to me for breaking into his phone. I guess I’m field testing it.” As a science nerd, he was jealous I got my hands on new tech. As my brother, he was glad I got along with Oliver.

Wally and I stayed up late watching TV since I’d stopped relieving tension by sending myself to my room. I had to carry Wally to bed when he fell asleep around midnight, his medication made it hard for him to pull all-nighters without lots of stimulants (caffeine). I went back downstairs to watch more TV.

When I woke up the next day, I found Wally still asleep and a note on the fridge. Iris left the note that both she and Barry would be working late with an emergency contact number, probably for me since Wally’s Kid Flash and all. I checked the number with the contacts Oliver gave me, Team Arrow and Team Flash mostly, and found a match for Oliver. I called Oliver, “Hey. Who is this?”

“That gives me two questions. It’s Michael. What’s my number so I can write it down?”

He read off a 10 digit number, “What’s the other question?”

“Take a guess, Green Arrow.” I smirked, he might’ve had a stroke at my casual reveal. I reminded him “The phone’s a prototype. No one can listen in.”

“Zeta here and I’ll pick you up. I’ve finished most of my CEO work for the week.”

“I’m good to just watch TV for a few hours if you have to do CEO work, it’s what I do here anyway. Iris left a note that she’ll be working late and guess who the emergency number is?”

“Me.”

“Yup. I don’t think I’ll get in too much trouble if Wally calls you to report me missing.”

Oliver laughed, “Alright. See you when you get here.”

We didn’t live very far from the Zeta station (I guess it’s a station). The League set it up for the Flash so it makes sense it’d be close to his home and place of work. I came out of the Zeta station in Star City to see Oliver waiting in his car, trying not to look to conspicuous just waiting in a luxury vehicle. The socialist did a pretty good job not getting stoned or robbed. I got in the car and he drove to his mansion. “So you just thought you’d call the emergency contact without an emergency?”

“No. I looked in my contacts to see who the emergency number belonged to. Wally was still asleep when I got up but he went to bed hours before I did.”

“Wally’s on medication that makes all nighters kinda tricky.”

“Why’s he on meds?”

“Wally had a psychotic break a few years ago. They don’t call him Kid for nothing, he saw something he wouldn’t have if Flash had been with him. Then he went Vigilante and started wiping out entire gangs. He killed hundreds before you came into the picture then he told Flash to search his room and basement. Flash found his Vigilante stuff and the whole truth came out. The League kept it hush hush and he got treatment but they have him on enough medication to sedate a horse for weeks.”

“Really?”

“Yeah but he still got off pretty light for a mass murderer.”

“True. He didn’t get the death penalty.”

“Exactly.”

We walked into his mansion around lunchtime. I thanked Rosa as I saw him do the day before. When we were done eating Oliver asked “Want to go a few more rounds in the dojo?” I smirked, he asked “Were you always a smirker?”   
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Ask Wally, he remembers the old me.”

Oliver nodded, “So think you’re ready for a few more rounds?”

“I think you and Dinah are the only people crazy enough to let me.”

Oliver looked offended “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean you both missed the memo that Flash needs permission from Doctor Mid-Nite to sign off on letting me get involved in combat training. Oh, and until I complete some form of therapy I’m not to be considered mentally fit enough for combat training, I think that rule came from Batman. Ignoring all of that is rebellious. What makes you crazy is going against Iris by training me.” Oliver choked, I didn’t know he was swallowing anything but he actually had trouble breathing so he wasn’t choking on nothing. I stopped walking and saw him lean on a wall as he tried to breathe.

When he regained some breath, he choked out “Iris is against this?”

I said “She never told me I couldn’t train. Neither did Batman, Flash or Doctor Mid-Nite but I’m pretty sure the first two things I said are true.”

He sounded dizzy but he was breathing when he said “They are.”

“You’re not gonna pass out or die, are you?”

Oliver put his other hand on the wall and started panting to get air in his lungs. Artemis came into the hall and rushed over to him, “Are you okay, Ollie?”

I said “I doubt it. First he choked on nothing and now he seems be having trouble breathing. What did you two do last night on patrol?”

Artemis glared at me, I had no survival instinct when it came to superheroes. “I’m not a doctor so I don’t know many things that can cause someone to have trouble breathing.”

Artemis said “Help me get him upstairs then we’ll call for help.”

I said “Just call for help and point me in the right direction.”

She started “Yeah, right.” Then saw me pick Ollie up with almost no trouble and gawked.

“I have more muscle than bone mass, been that way for years.”

She overcame her shock and got on her phone, steering me to Oliver’s room. Oliver was still barely breathing but he wasn’t choking on air so that was an improvement. Artemis lead me outside the room then started the interrogation, “What did you say to him?”

“Yesterday I detailed stuff that actually qualifies as torture and he didn’t react like this. Today I told him I’m pretty sure that Iris is against me training, Batman wants me to complete some form of therapy before I start, and Flash needs permission from Doctor Mid-Nite before he can sign off on it. I told him no one told me any of that stuff. I could be dead wrong. He might be just dead before we find out.”

That got her attention, “Right. You said you don’t know many things that cause that but we still need to think of possibilities.”

“Drugs, asthma attack and allergies is all I got. I can’t name specific allergies or drugs though.”

Artemis said “It’s a start. I don’t think Oliver has asthma. I’ll go check the other two.”

“Want me to make sure he doesn’t die while you do that?”

She was already heading to the stairs, “Yes.” I went back into his room and made sure he was breathing as he heaved for air.

Dinah came in just before Artemis brought a set of antidotes (I think) in. I explained without prompting, avoiding Dinah’s third degree “I told him he’s crazy for going against Iris. I’m pretty sure Iris, Batman, Flash and Doctor Mid-Nite are all against me training. I think Batman wants me to complete some form of therapy, Flash needs Doctor Mid-Nite to say I’ve recovered enough and Iris doesn’t want me trying to become a superhero like Wally did. I could be dead wrong, no one told me any of this and I told Ollie that when he started having trouble breathing because it seemed like it started when I said he was crazy for going against Iris. At this point I’m pretty sure he’s unconscious.” I kept surprising myself by using big words.

Dinah said “Alright, calm down.” Artemis came in halfway through my explanation, that’s how close it was. I stepped away from Oliver as Artemis handed Dinah the medical supplies. Artemis lead me downstairs to watch TV while Dinah acted as Oliver’s doctor.

Oliver came down a couple hours later, he said “Hope I didn’t scare you.”

I said “Not even top 10 worst things I’ve seen.”

“Way to be cryptic.”

“You think he got away with things as long as he did because I didn’t have a good filter. Bet that was one of the other kid’s fatal mistake.”

Dinah was surprised by how Oliver was taking my words. He said “You didn’t have to make a mistake for him to kill you. He had a pretty high body count.”

“Right.”

Dinah was staring with her mouth wide open. Oliver said “I didn’t think it’d be in the top 20 worst things you’ve ever seen.”

“21 is over 10.”

“Right.”

I ran out of patience with Artemis and Dinah’s staring, “Something to add?” They shut their mouths at the same time and left us alone, “That’ll be some girl talk.”

Oliver smiled, “Yeah. Is Oliver actually crazy? That's probably not even up for debate anymore.”

“You can pass a psych eval, right? ‘Cause I don’t think they’ll count talking to another psycho as completing a form of therapy.”

“You kidding? Superheroes love fighting fire with fire, look at our nemesis. I fight a dark archer, Flash fights a dark speedster, Superman fight General Zod among other Kryptonians. Batman fights a resourceful evil clown, just look at all the stuff Joker pulls off.” I smirked. “I’m gonna ask Wally if you were always a smirker, now I really need to know.”

“I’m not sure Batman will count talking to another psycho as completing therapy. Can you pass a psych eval? Or would we score the same right now?”

“I’m pretty sure Batman will count it. I can talk to Dinah just to make sure it counts.”

“Works for me. Well, looks like we already started another session.” I asked “How’d we do this on accident?”

“I opened my mouth while your filter was on half power.”

“Sounds about right. Where’d we leave off yesterday?”

“You killed the other kids and I told you that you didn’t live for 7 years but survived.”

“Right. Not sure where to go with that.” I don’t know when the TV got turned off or Oliver sat down but both things happened.

Oliver said “Well, you said he favored you over the other kids. Let’s start there.”

“As I’m sure his last rape victim saw he liked to see me scared. I got him to stop beating me by crying in front of her. The other kids didn’t understand survival, some of them tried to escape. The basement was his psycho workplace. I guess I had the best instincts.”

“Details. Remember the point is sharing memories with a non-mindreader.”

“When we fought I’d done more jobs and he’d rewarded me with stuff like clothes. At some point he stopped rewarding but he never stopped punishing. By the time he sent me on my first job he’d already killed one kid on accident during a punishment. He grabbed me from the kids in the basement. I didn’t try to fight his grasp, already smarter than the other kids. He gave me clothes for the job so I didn’t look like I slept in a basement. The job was simple on paper. He pointed to someone and we lured them to him with some sob story, like our dad was hurt and needed help or we lost our dad. Whatever it took to get their help and not the police. On my first go round I told her my dad locked his keys in his cars and we needed help because we were late for a doctor’s appointment, I think. She got all the way to the car before pulling her phone and by then it was too late. He got her in his trunk and told me to get in. I didn't act worried about her, just survived. He didn’t have to force me to go back to the basement so I got to keep the clothes.”

Oliver never looked upset at hearing the stories, he said “So your first reward was getting to keep clean clothes? Did he feed you guys?”

“Not much, again he played favorites. Kids he didn’t like didn’t eat. He liked me from the first job because I made it easier on him than the other kids did.”

Oliver said “I think that’s where the child neglect charges come in. He didn’t keep you fed, he didn’t let your bones heal, that’s child neglect. What got what punishment in the beginning?”

“After he accidentally tortured a kid to death, he took one of the bigger kids upstairs. I don’t think they left the building. The kid did not make it easy on him. He tried to stay with us in the basement. Halfway to the door he stopped dragging the kid then smacked him so hard his body flipped and his head hit the floor. That got ‘im to stop fighting, he picked the kid up and took him upstairs. I didn’t know there was more than one job in the beginning but there was. Luring people for him isn’t the worst job. That was before my first job. I guess the kid didn’t do the work very well, guy was still dazed when he brought ‘im back down. He collared the kid and went at him again. I’m not sure he recovered from hitting his head on the floor at all that night. The psycho went upstairs and got the rest of us a little food but the dazed kid was kept separate for that reason.”

“Wow, so he got upset because the kid couldn’t do the job.”

“He’s psycho remember.”

“Yeah. Keep going.”

“I didn’t do everything right at first but I never fought him when he grabbed me and that was better than most. The kid that screwed up because of the concussion was one of the worst. Some kids wised up when his grip didn’t loosen or they remembered that kid before they got dragged that far and just stopped struggling. I didn’t make him drag me more than a few inches. Usually fighting him wasn’t a problem. He was bigger than all of us and torturing the kid to death made all of us scared enough of him we didn’t try anything. He was psycho.”

“What happened to the kid he accidentally killed? What’d he do with the body?”

“Well he killed the kid punishing him. I think he took boys because we’d grow up to help him load bodies. He killed the kid, told us he’d do worse to us then he went upstairs. No one ever tried to run upstairs after him when he left us. He was bigger than us and had no problem throwing us across the room. Now I know you all share a no killing rule, none of you scare me.”

“What happened to the body? Focus, this doesn’t work if you distract yourself.”

“Are you actually focused on trying to play therapist?”

“I guess so.”

“Well he just left the body after threatening us. Obviously it had the effect to make us all afraid of the crazy man that did the deed. The next time he grabbed one of us for a job, the kid didn’t struggle nearly as much because the body was still there. Even when kids fell down the stairs, they still got as far from the door as possible. Sometimes something as small as sneezing during a job could set him off. He hated all of us but he needed us so he wouldn’t wind up like Mr. Jameson or get caught by the police. It wasn’t until he was done using us for two jobs and fed us once that he took care of the body, we saw it for a while.”

“What was your first direct punishment?”

I paused to think about that, “I know I screwed up on one of the luring missions. It was small and he wasn’t stupid enough to punish in public. We got the mark home and he grabbed me by the shoulder when I headed towards the basement. I followed him up to the room he used for his major crimes. She was unconscious from being in the trunk. Fun fact, trunks don’t have vents. He put her in the chair and told me to tie her up. I didn’t know what we got them for so that was setting me up to fail. I asked him if he wanted her like that. I flinched because he was already angry with me. Asking was actually smart, it took me a while to learn his playful slaps from real ones so flinching wasn’t smart because that upset him. You can guess how he wanted her tied up based on his crimes.”

“How old were you?”

“There were still other kids so it wasn’t two years in?”

“Okay, continue.”

“I just did what he wanted. We left her to wake up and he told me to sit on the couch. Never disobeyed his orders, usually was the smart thing to do. What scared me after leaving that room was how nice he was acting. He was never nice to us and that’s still true. Until about three years ago I thought there were only two kinds of abuse, physical and the s kind.” Oliver didn’t question any of my word choices, I thought about some carefully. “There’s at least two other kinds: emotional and mental. Definitely never nice. Because we were all so scared of him, being his favorite didn’t get me in too much trouble with the others.”

“So you got a different kind of punishment for your first offense?”

“I was the last sidekick standing, I saw all kinds of punishment. Yeah, I think the others only got beaten the first time.”

He laughed, “The last sidekick standing?”

“That's what he used us for, right?”

“True.” He got serious again. “So how much did he get you involved?”

“If it wasn't for the proven fact that I had no choice then I'd be guilty of the same crimes but fewer counts. Child abuse and neglect being the exceptions since I’m the victim in those.”

“He made you kill?”

“I already told you that. Last sidekick standing.”

“Right, my mind was somewhere else for a moment.”

“Clearly. The last night I was there, after he left me in the basement with his last victim, he called down keep her warm for me. Never disobeyed an order but that easily had two meanings so I got around what he meant without getting in trouble.”

“Okay. Let's stop there. What do you want to do now?”

“I don’t know. I just know that Wally has daytime Kid Flash duties and I don’t want to stay in an empty house.”

Oliver said “What exactly did Iris’ note say?”

I pulled out my phone and showed Oliver a picture, “Artemis had me text Wally so he doesn’t get in trouble if Iris calls to check in or panic when he can’t find me.”

Oliver said “So Iris was thinking you two would be staying home it looked like. That’s Hell for a speedster and not much better for you, at least that’s what I think.”

“I guess that was the plan. What’s wrong with Wally staying home for a day?”

“Speedsters experience time differently. We all move slow to them because time moves slower for them than it does for humans.”

“So if a speedster was in my position, that day or so after the psycho killed a kid on accident would’ve felt like centuries.”

“Exactly. Never really thought about how stretched the bad stuff is.”

“Well, speedsters don’t act like that.”

“You’re right. They act like little kids, they joke and don’t take thing seriously.”

“If time is so slow for a speedster then how do you know they don’t take stuff seriously? You said it yourself they experience time differently. If time moves slower for them then it moves faster for us. They might take time to take stuff seriously but they do it too fast for us to see. Time moves slower to them. Their definition of hours could be our definition of seconds. They can take plenty of time to process and still look like they’re not taking it serious.”

Oliver said “You make a very good point.”

“If a day to us is forever to them than a minute to us is months to them. How do you stay sane through that kind of change in reality? Being a speedster must be Hell. Everyone thinks you’re an idiot which makes you a joke and insensitive which makes you a jerk. There’s no balance. People can go from loving you to hating you in the time it takes them to their shoelace yet in that time you can read the dictionary.”

Oliver looked horrified but I didn’t notice. “How do they not hate everyone and everything? They don’t get to live in the normal world. The normal, human world moves at turtle speed to them and there’s nothing they can do about it. Humans have a billion more just like them. How many speedsters are there? Ten or less. Yet speedsters fight each other. You said it yourself, Flash fights a dark speedster. Just like humans they can’t get along long enough to appreciate that they’re not alone because just like humans they can’t get along for very long period. Imagine if humans were like speedsters. Imagine if there were less than ten humans and billions of speedsters. War would be a lot different. Do you think anyone would care about snail in a world of cheetahs? No if the numbers were reversed and humans were minority they’d be treated like animals, endangered animals that no one cared about. That’s if cheetah world didn’t wipe out the snail population on accident. It would only take a speedster’s minute if they cared at all. Am I really the first person to think about this?”

That’s when I noticed Oliver staring at me, his expression was mixed. He was horrified by what I was saying. No one ever talked to him about something like this so he really had to think to see what I was seeing. “I don’t think anyone has ever thought about if the numbers were reversed,” he said after giving me time to catch my breath while he thought. He continued, “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. You’re acting like speedsters are the only people your idea applies to. Speedsters aren’t the only superhumans. Take any kind of superpower with a number of people,”

“A population. Take any superpowered population and what?”

“Flip their numbers with humanity’s billions. You’ll probably see a lot of the same. Humanity driven to extinction or at least endangered because they’re weaker than the majority.”

“Doesn’t that apply to all stuff like that? Take the majority and make them the minority, take the minority and make them the majority? Won’t you get the same results with or without superpowers? I mean when it comes to skin color, history might repeat itself. What I’m saying is if tomorrow a minority somewhere and the majority flipped after history has taken its toll then the new minority will go endangered or extinct. That’s the price of persecution in a scenario not involving superpowers. I guess my idea applies to all kinds of populations.”

Oliver stood, “Let’s put that theory into writing. Iris can help you make it look professional, Barry can help you fine tune it and I can help you put the ideas in writing. It’ll be a good bonding exercise.”

I got up and followed him out of the room, “Get rid of all the tension having a kid no one’s seen for 7 years that you know has gone through trauma, or Hell as everyone calls it. I like that idea.”

“We’ll work on it in my office, I think Iris has a home office too or at least a home computer. I’ll help you set it up so you can access it on Iris’ computer and work on it at home. This could be something really big.”

“Can I write about the speedster thing? And why does it need to look professional?”

Oliver stopped walking to look at me, “For decades people have been talking about what would happen if a minority overtook the majority and you just came up with the answer on accident. Iris, Barry and I will help you write a paper on it and get it published. This could get you that scholarship you mentioned. People will be thinking, ‘if he can do this after 8 years without a formal education and only part of elementary school then I wonder what he’ll do after a few years of high school’. Colleges will be lining up to answer that. You just came up with a major theory, let’s make sure you get credit.”

I followed him to his home office, “I’ll talk to Barry and Iris about making these visits a regular, planned thing. I’ll also talk to them about working on this with you.”

“I don’t think I can repeat what I said.”   
“That’s okay. Y’see Dinah and I had a serious talk last night after you left. We figured if talking to me works better than talking to her then we’ll accept that, take things as they are not how we want them to. So as a compromise for the less flexible people in the League who want to monitor your progress, we figured we’d find a way to record our talks so Dinah can listen to the tapes and act like you’re talking to her when they ask.”

“Okay?”

“That means I have a recording of your theory. Right now let’s just keep talking about it and later I’ll put the recording through talk to text to get all your ideas in writing.”

“Why’d we come to your office then?”

“Because before I transfer what you said in the living room, I’ll have to do some editing to cut out our therapy session and make it work for the talk to text program. I just want to use a better mic to make things simpler from here on out.”

“Alright. Can you remind me what I was saying?”

Oliver didn’t hear me at first, “By the way you’re making progress. We can all see it by how comfortable you are around adults. It’s clear you’ve realized no one is going to hurt you like the psycho you lived with for 7 years. So everyone’s counting that as a victory.” He laughed, “After getting a look at the guy who had you, some took the idea you’d be afraid of adults and ran with it until they figured you’d be most afraid of Superman out of everyone in the League because he resembled the guy more than the rest of us. I told ‘em you weren’t scared of us because you know we don’t kill so everyone could stop worrying about scaring you by being adults.”

I repeated, “Can you remind me what  **I** was saying?”

“Right. You started with the speedster thing then after I told you that’d apply to most superhero populations, you took it a step further. You said when it comes to skin color, history might repeat itself. That’s a big part of the debate you weighed in on. After that you said that what you were talking about is if tomorrow a minority somewhere and the majority flipped after history has taken its toll then the new minority will go endangered or extinct as the price of persecution. You had no idea you were weighing in on a debate that’s been going on since long before you were born but you still came up with an idea that could solve the debate. It’s just amazing.”

“Okay so where do I go from this? I guess I lost some of my steam changing rooms.”

“Wherever you want to go. I’m just recording this. You said that if the minority and majority were flipped somewhere then there would be a price for persecution. Try explaining that.”

“Okay. The majorities probably feel safe in their superior numbers so they’d never even think about what would happen if the minorities they rule over took that from them and made them the minority. The majority in this,” I stopped and thought about my wording, “scenario wouldn’t just lay down and accept the change. They might refuse to recognize the change and continue to act like it never happened.”

At some point while I was sitting in Oliver’s home office going through my theory I realized how much the scenario applied to my 7 years, I don’t know when it hit me but I think Oliver knew before he came up with the idea to get it in writing. “Depending on how much they oppressed the minority when they were the majority, their punishment when they become the minority will vary. If they didn’t treat the minority too bad but made it clear they were superior then the punishment will be kinda mild. The new majority won’t cry when one of the new minority is killed, when the tables were turned they didn’t get the majority’s sympathies. Take the US, I think, for example. We used to have a big problem with racism where whites could kill blacks and get away with it, if the tables had turned back then like they do in my scenario then white Americans might’ve gone extinct because of the solidarity in the black community. Now racism still exists but it’s much,” I couldn’t think of a word. Better, maybe?

Oliver offered, “More restrained?”

“Yes. It’s much more restrained which means if the tables were turned now and blacks took over then whites would just lose power, they wouldn’t go extinct. Actually I don’t think the idea works with America today, the numbers are too close. It’s not like superhumans and normal humans.”

Oliver said “You’re right. I can’t think of a place this would work as well as America during Jim Crow Laws.” He stopped to think, “Africa after the age of slavery had a pretty big problem with whites. Whites treated blacks as property and I don’t know what got whites to stop in most of the world, Americans went to war against each other before the 13th amendment got passed and stopped slavery here in the States. Let’s use Africa after white people found it.”

I said “Okay. Give me some background. What do you know about that time?”

“I can give you the basics then we do actual research when we work out the kinks to help this thing get published. Here goes,” he leaned back in his chair and sighed, thinking. “Nelson Mandela lived in South Africa. He’s famous for getting blacks a fair,”

“He fought for equality, is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Yeah. He was the first South African president. He pretty much made the South African presidency. Y’see white people didn’t have numbers advantage in South Africa but like you said they didn’t act like the minority. They were just as bad as whites here in the States after the 13th amendment was passed saying no more slavery. Actually American whites were saints compared to South African whites before Mandela. Maybe we should just treat this like a made-up scenario, it’ll never happen but we need it to make our point. We’ll find something that really happened to compare it to when we’re actually working on the paper. For now just use what you know about how blacks were oppressed after they stopped being property.”

“That’ll probably work best. By the time you come up with a historic example, we might forget what we’re comparing to.”

“You still remember, right?”

“Yeah. I guess. So the majority will keep their superiority complex that they developed by being the majority because they didn’t think they’d ever become the minority. If this sense of superiority lead them to persecute the minority and kill them without a care then when they become the minority one of two things will happen. One of two things will happen. The new minority will allow themselves to become the oppressed, giving up their sense of superiority and letting the new majority take over. This could happen because the minority will value its need for survival over its sense of superiority. The other path might be more likely. They’ll continue to see themselves as better than the new majority and this is where they will pay for persecuting the minority. As the minority has now become the majority and the majority has now become the minority. In the case race the majority is usually white in situations where one is persecuted by the other. In this case that has happened but the majority, the whites, are now the minority as their numbers have moved in favor of those they persecuted. The second path is where their need for survival isn’t recognized in time. They choose to continue acting like they always did, choosing to ignore the change that has cost them their superior numbers. While the minority has recognized the fact that they have gained the numbers, that they now have superior numbers.”

Oliver asked “You have pretty big vocabulary.”

“Doctor Mid-Nite didn’t keep me completely sedated for a year. I spent some time awake before I moved in with Barry and Iris. Usually I just got a book to occupy myself while he ran tests to make sure I was recovering right. I still slept through my birthday. I guess for some tests I had to be awake and off most of my medication. He put my life above celebrating stuff.”

Oliver said “Sorry, I guess I distracted you there. Now I have to edit both recordings.”

I asked “Which route do you want to look at first? Extinction or oppression?”

“Those are the routes, I guess. At this rate you’ll be writing a book, nothing wrong with that.”

“Which route?”

“Let’s try extinction. Paint the bleaker picture first.”

“Alright. The majority loses their,”

“Numbers’ advantage is the phrase I think you’re looking for.”

“Their numbers’ advantage yet simply refuses to admit they’ve lost this source of superiority. The oppressed minority gains this advantage and takes it in stride, exploiting it. I’m not talking about a planet wide event. Alien invasions aren’t even worldwide events, they hit and mostly American heroes hit back. They don’t even involve the people they hit. What I’m talking about is a contained change. Something that impacts a society not all societies on Earth.”

Even I was surprised by how I talked but I seemed to just know what I was talking about. Kinda like the big words I kept using, I surprised me but didn’t question it. I just took it in stride, “I don’t see how the change could be planetwide and matter. I see it spreading. First the new minority takes out their old oppressors then it spreads through societies. When you think about it, it’s not one path or the other. It’s one place follows one pass and when the change hits another place they go down the other path. The more superior the majority sees itself the harder it will be for them to accept this change. A majority with a strong sense of superiority because they’re the majority will make them act like their better, treating minorities like garbage. When the change comes they will flat-out refuse to accept that they’ve lost their superiority. This will lead the oppressed to be like screw oppressing them, let’s see how they like struggling to survive. This can lead to chaos. If the majority was well-established as the dominant power in their society then they may get the support of outside societies in helping them subdue what may appear to a rebellion.”

“An uprising, upheaval. I’ll work on the wording when I start the paper.”

“Alright. Where was I going with this? This change in just one society could spark a war or a revolution. Let’s look at the other path in the case of this major power shift. Yet again the majority oppressed the minority because they were superior but this time there wasn’t as much of a power struggle. I don’t think that in any version of this where the flip happens that the majority is just going to lay down and let themselves be treated like garbage just because they stopped outnumbering the people they treated like garbage. I don’t expect when the tables turn and the oppressor’s source of superiority is lost to the oppressed that our oppressors are going to drop down on their knees in front of the oppressed and beg for mercy. It’s not gonna happen. That’s not what I’m foreseeing if this population flip ever happens. What I’m saying is going to happen is that the oppress won’t act like nothing happened. They’ll recognize the change and pursue peace as a,”

“Means of survival.”

“That. You might actually have to explain some of this to me, I don’t know where I’m coming up with this stuff and this isn’t the first time I said something I didn’t understand.” I continued, “The new minority, or the old oppressors, are going to pursue peace as a means of survival. This path implies at least some leaders in the old oppressed group are educated enough to see how they can take advantage of the situation. They will agree to meet to discuss equality, or whatever the old oppressors are calling their bid for survival. The leaders will meet and the new majority will force the new minority to officially recognize the change. Recognizing the change will mean giving up power they claimed by being the majority. The tables are turned in both scenarios but by going down this path the change is much smoother. In this version the new majority use much more,”

“Civil.”

“Civil strong arming instead of all out war.”

“How much could the change mean? When the minority becomes the majority, how much can things change? Are you talking about the new minority becoming little more than animals? What becomes of the society? Does the new minority simply switch lives with the new majority? Is there any specific punishment you think may be involved? These are details you should think about.”

“The possible change is the same in both scenarios. This scenario simply has the new minority recognize they are a minority and recognize who the majority so that they can survive. In the first scenario I don’t think the new majority will know about the change as soon as the old majority knows. It may take time for the old minority to find out that they outnumber their oppressors. The best outcome, the smoothest transition possible, will have the change recognized and the roles will almost flip. The minority will reap the benefits they got from being the majority for so long, for oppressing the new majority. They might draw power from more than outnumbering, maybe they rule their society’s business world so they still have more money. I’m not saying that the majority will say okay you can keep doing what you’re doing but you can’t oppress us. It’s never a perfect split with all of the majority keeping all of the minority down. You can’t have a majority where everyone is rich so not everyone in the new minority will be able to keep perks from the old world. You might have a lot of the minority become victims while the leaders in the majority cut the rich a deal to escape that. A world that suffers this shift won’t be any more fair than the world we have now. Things may be so bad for the lower class minority that they aren’t even people to the new majority that has taken advantage of this change to fill the gap between poor and rich, letting the new minority take their place in the poor column as the leaders join the rich.”

Oliver said “You came up with all that off the top of your head.”

“I don’t know how. I don’t understand half of this theory I apparently have. It’s like when I used the words trauma and perspective before my session with Dinah, I had no idea what those words meant but I guess I used them right.”

“I don’t know how you make brilliant sense on accident.”

“I accidentally fixed all that stuff for your company.”

Oliver put his hand out before this became an argument, “I’m not saying you’re lying or anything. I’m saying I can't explain it either.”

“Oh,” it’s obvious when he says it out loud.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and it’s amazing how much I slept through getting over my fears. “You can stop recording for the book.”

Oliver said “Already done. What's on your mind?”

I answered “You said some people thought I’d be afraid of Superman. A year ago they might've been right. Somehow I slept through overcoming my fear there.”

“I’m not a psychologist. That's I why I agreed to record our talks instead of broadcasting them on a closed channel. I’m not going to pretend I have a clue what I’m supposed to do in our sessions. Dinah can study the recordings and give her professional opinion then I can talk to your parents like I’m your therapist to figure out how to go from there. I’ll try to invite your family over for dinner or something weekly so we can get in a rhythm for how to do this. What do you think?”

“I’m gonna guess you didn't come up with all that just off the top of your head. It sounds good to me.”

“Good. Now before we work in a second session and damage your filter, let's get out of here and train before I get called to take you back to Zeta home.”

“You mean back to Central City.”

Oliver paused in the hall, I hesitated before turning around. He was staring at me, “You went into the city to Zeta here?” I nodded. Why wouldn't I? 

He turned around and started walking away, “That's it I'm calling Barry and if he doesn't answer I’ll call Wally to grab Barry. Go find Dinah and Artemis, you don't need to see me put an arrow through your dad.”

I asked loudly “What am I missing?”

I missed Artemis coming into the hall. She heard me and maybe the end of Oliver threatening Barry. She grabbed Ollie’s arm, “What is wrong with you today?”

Oliver explained “He thinks the only Zeta station is by the precinct. Barry dropped him off yesterday but never showed him how to get here on his own.”

Artemis slapped Oliver. A year before that would've shocked me. Just then I was only confused about why she slapped him and why he was threatening Barry. As soon as she’d slapped him, she said “Barry forgot something. That’s not new. At least this time he didn't forget his wife's birthday and ask you to throw a party a month late. Do you really want a League reprimand? Imagine Dinah if you got in trouble for trying to kill your best friend instead of just showing Michael the thing yourself.”

“Are you sure blonde women don't have some scaring superpower?”

“You really just said that in front of Michael?”

Oliver turned away from their argument to look at me wide eyed, like he thought I’d left, “I’m gonna show you why that pissed me off.” I nodded.

If being blonde women gave Artemis and Dinah scaring superpower then what power did being archers give Oliver and Artemis? Artemis was direct, Oliver joked but it was easier to talk to them than the trained shrink. If blonde women scaring Oliver to his senses was superpower related then the archers making things make sense to me was too.

I followed Oliver down to his basement lair. Artemis chaperoned so Oliver didn’t try stupid stuff again, saving him before he endangered himself for no reason. I saw a Zeta tube. Oliver went over to the computer console in one wall, “Oh? Barry didn’t show you his home Zeta platform because you can't use it. You’re only authorized to access the Mount Justice platform, the stations in Star and Central you used today.”

Artemis looked equally surprised “What?! I thought he was only on restricted access so he can't do missions or break into League HQ. They have him restrained to three stations so he has to go into the city instead of his backyard.”

“There's a Zeta tube in my backyard?”

Oliver said “I’ll talk to some of the League. I’m sure I can get Barry on board with at least changing the stations so he can Zeta here from home instead of using the public ones meant for out-of-town in-costume heroes.”

“Batman set the restrictions, didn't he?”

Oliver held a hand out, “Three founders can override Batman. Batman set that up so the League can act as a countermeasure against him.”

“So you need Barry and two more?”

“Exactly. I think I can convince superheroes not to needlessly endanger a civilian.”

I asked “Should I go upstairs and watch TV so you can talk?”

Oliver said “Ha, now we both did it.” He turned to me, “Wanna spar or watch TV?”

“TV. I'd rather not get in trouble for going against my parents on purpose when they might have a reason for what they're doing.”

“TV it is.”

As we climbed the stairs, Oliver asked Artemis “Tell Wally to ask Iris if Michael can spend the night when she gets home. I don't want to get an angry phone call because he stayed here past his curfew.” Artemis agreed, turning back to the platform.

She reported back a few hours later that Iris was fine with me spending a few nights but gave some conditions. I have to keep doing the therapy thing, not training and patrolling. Oliver will call her if he has to leave me alone before he leaves, the point of staying here being I’d be alone less. Artemis told Oliver that Wally agreed for them and was going to stop by with a bag of my stuff. He dropped it off and went wherever he was spending his summer.

Oliver put me in a spare room before he and Artemis left for patrol. The room had a TV, I had nowhere else to be and Oliver only asked I go to sleep by 6 AM. At home, I didn't have to be in my room until 6 AM but at home going there meant going to sleep so it was the same rule. Why 6 AM? Oliver shouldn't find me wide awake when he got home and Iris shouldn't find me that way when she was going to work. Why not 5 or 7? 5 AM Ollie was patrolling and Iris was sleeping. Reverse that at 7 AM, Ollie was sleeping off his patrol and Iris was working on a story. I had plenty of time to think about this rule as Barry and Oliver tried to figure out how to get my makeshift therapy to work without Oliver accidentally turning into my new dad.

At some point during the first night I spent at Oliver's, he broke off from patrol with Artemis and met with the Justice League's founders to discuss my restricted access being set up wrong. The next day he’d either gotten the three he needed to override Batman or convinced Batman. Either way I went back to Central City through his basement, he coordinated with Wally and Barry so I didn't wonder why I was in a shed. They were waiting for me, on either side of the open shed doors and turned me around after I exited said shed so I'd see where the platform was. Oliver insisted I take home as much leftovers as they could fit in various bags on me without weighing me down or pushing the Zeta platforms size capacity (the shed one). Oliver was tempted to similarly load up Artemis and send her through. Three things stopped him. They were almost out of bags. Artemis didn’t actually know where Flash’s platform was, the backyard comment was because Barry had a backyard not a basement like Oliver's. The last thing was the size problem, he didn’t want to overload the platform and set us on fire over food. Barry and Wally took no time unloading the various delicious packs before I fully left the shed but they didn't crowd me by making a race of it. After they turned me around so I stopped feeling stupid about not seeing the platform sooner, I told them “Oliver sent the food so Wally doesn't eat everything while you're at work. He said speedsters are living black holes.”

Iris came out the back door and laid down the law for said speedsters, “Barry don’t eat Wally's food. Wally don’t eat it all at once.”

Seeing their hungry expressions return after nodding to Iris, I made things simple, dropping the rest of the bags onto the ground and picking one up, “This is my bag,” I peeked inside to double checked it was just my stuff, “The rest is food.” I fell back against the shed behind me as yet again two speedsters made a race of unloading bags of food into the kitchen. It hit me why that was a race, hungry speedsters loved a stocked kitchen. Barry caught Iris before she fell onto the lawn to get trampled.

Once the two had emptied Oliver's dozen or so bags of Rosa’s food the wind died down. I had a quick conversation with Iris, one without complete sentences. She’d been living with that phenomenon for years, they always act like that and she was used to answering questions when they used their powers like that. When everything stopped spinning, I asked “How do your neighbors not notice?”

Barry laughed, “Even if they did it’s not like they can tell anyone they live next to the Flash and Kid Flash without sounding kinda crazy.”

“Any video proof comes out looking like a hurricane or some natural disaster and no one wants to risk it being Weather Wizard,” Wally added.

“Plus just like Flash’s battles with the Rogues, they can't time it. People don't want to believe that superheroes are humans and use their powers in their human lives,” Iris continued.

“Unless it’s something awesome like living in a James Bond movie.” I finished, “Superhero spy.”

“Exactly,” Barry was still being careful. Thing is he stopped thinking so much to avoid missteps and when he made them he played them off instead of worrying about hurting me by reminding me of the psycho. People had stopped walking on so many eggshells after Oliver started trying his hand as my therapist.

Oliver saw from my first session that what I did for 7 years wasn't living and Dinah wanted to treat that by involving me in decisions in my life. At Oliver's request, my family and his met for dinner at his mansion on my first Friday out of the infirmary. Oliver told my parents I needed to be tested before school started up so I didn't go back to elementary and get me some honorary credits to put me back in Wally’s class. He offered to pay for any testing we needed. Iris realized my routine of spending almost all of my time at Oliver's when he didn't have business wasn't going to work in the long run. There was some debate, trying to figure things out. Wally, Artemis and I slipped away from the adults to the free end of the table. I said “I knew almost a week before Barry knew we were coming here that Oliver wanted to do this for my makeshift therapy. Talking to me and my parents about progress and treatment but I didn't think this would happen. Isn't it June? Don't we have months before school starts up?”

Artemis said “We’re not even halfway through summer but Oliver's not a qualified therapist and even if he was 7 years will need more than a few months therapy if the League has anything to say about it.”

“That's the thing. When Oliver told me he was gonna use dinner for this stuff, we were talking about how it’d be if the courts had any say. I thought I might be seeing a child shrink because I was 8 when those 7 years started. Oliver argued only I should have a say in this therapy thing. Amazing what can happen in a week and how much Oliver tells me on accident that Barry doesn't tell me at all.”

Wally asked “What d’ya mean?” His mouth full of food.

“He told me you went crazy and became a vigilante so now they got you on enough meds to take down a horse.”

Barry said “Oh really? And is that all he told you?”

“That was day two before we set foot in the house. Because I have a great filter only three people know all about those 7 year. Me, Martian Manhunter and the monster responsible for them.” I choose to change the topic before I hurt my new family.

I got up to get a computer, Oliver said “You can access it on your phone.”

I sat back down and gave my dad my phone after pulling up the paper I’d worked on with Oliver. I said “Oliver figured you and Iris could help make it look professional before we try to publish.”

Wally was suddenly reading over his Uncle B’s shoulder, “Dude, that's amazing! You came up with this.”

I nodded, “We’re gonna reformat it. Right now Oliver just put it through talk to text.” Artemis walked over after Wally was given the phone and Iris had joined the gathering. By the time I got my phone back, Oliver and Barry had moved dinner down to our end of table.

It took almost all summer to get into an acceptable rhythm and get me tested for honorary credits. I met the other surviving victim the day my dad took me to wrestling tryouts. By then my therapy had reached a point where I could really joke about the serious stuff I went through. After a lot of convincing, Wally tried out for football. We both made captain and Wally gave up his MVP award to the kicker/punter Axl Walker after leading the school to States. First semester was a time of change at our school as the summer had been at home. As for my major social theory paper, I got the essay published after a year of writing and fine tuning. Robin was impressed when he got to read it after Wally's team won States, about halfway through the process. Against my wishes, he passed it onto Batman and impressing the Dark Knight with the deep thought that went into the paper was cool. By far the best part of my first year home was seeing Axl go from Rogue outcast and develop into a somewhat normal boy. The three of us were Juniors that year and by our Senior year school had become a formality. My paper won me scholarships to every Ivy League and most American universities among other schools, all full free rides. Wally got awards for his leadership, getting Axl on the team despite the school and its league saying no. He and Axl got athletic and academic scholarships, I asked my athletic scholarships go to my teammates.

Hartley Rathaway was Axl’s first emergency contact after a nonviolent struggle to keep him on the team, Hartley was chosen because he could respond without getting arrested. I was Axl’s second since I was almost always around, going to all of the games I could make, and my untraceable phone minimized the risks of giving me a contact number. Wally and I got Axl to care about football after getting the coach to let him try out. Cold kept him out of handcuffs and eligible, with a lot of help from Piper on the latter, after I convinced him Trickster on the football team was a good thing. The day Axl tried out, an idiot decided to poke the bear and call me Mikey the monster after I already broke his nose for calling me Mikey monster, warning him not to call me Mikey. I attacked him and it took three people to help Wally break it up. Then guy ran his mouth again, insulting Axl and no one stood in the way of that brawl. Mark, Axl’s ride home, was just about to step in when the police passed by and saw the brawl. We all got lined up on the curb while they went through, handing us over to our parents after getting an explanation. Mark took me, Wally and Axl after we told the truth. That's how I got talking to Leonard Snart about Axl Walker playing kicker and punter for the football team.

I had to spell it for to Axl when a girl wanted to date him. All in all, getting a bunch of awards for my paper, impressing Batman with my paper, being named captain and MVP of the wrestling team was cool. But the best thing was what Wally and I did for Axl. After Axl got hurt at States, a game I sat in the stands with the Rogues to watch, I told the guy who did it that Axl was a Rogue and they took care of their own. He died before midterms, the Rogues never even touched him. I remember the coach telling the paramedics that I was Axl’s second emergency contact so I could stay with him. I took his spot on the bus home the next day after Hartley took my spot watching him.

It’s amazing. I can't believe how fast I went from psycho’s sidekick to son of a superhero. I not only recovered from having powder for bones but made captain of the wrestling team. Worrying I’d be killed if I sneezed to writing an award winning paper. I lived the dream as Michael Allen after 7 years in Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m basing Oliver's history on the speech given at his funeral in Future’s End in effort to avoid the darker man from Arrow.


	10. Epilogue: Change In My Life

I remember the day Robin got a look at my essay something happened that highlighted the change I was undergoing in my life. My brother put away the laptop Robin saw my paper on then we started all against Wally, testing his meds. Flash and Batman were guest observers, Black Canary called ‘Powers are allowed’. Wally ran his mouth as he was already using his speed and all against one never had the no powers rule. Then my skin started to turn grey as I used my powers against him. When I held him in the air with his limbs immobilized, he ran his mouth, “Finish it. Kill me.”

I threw him against the floor and Batman moved forward with a stimulant to unparalyze my speedster stepbrother’s limbs while my skin returned to its white color. Canary said she’d consider changing the dose of Wally’s medication. By the time we graduated Wally was done with therapy and was off medication because Martian Manhunter had gone into his mind, created a shut off phrase and blocked any lingering psychosis. Canary talking about lowering his dose wasn't major. Now I can summon my power with just one physical change, my spine can be felt by touching my back.

The major thing happened after Wally rejoined the team. For some reason I said something about my 8 years in Hell and Artemis took offense to how I talked about the psycho’s female victims. I said “Sorry if I don't care about people I never knew.” I went off like that then went through the Zeta tube to Star City. My explosion showed how much I was changing. I didn't care about the people the psycho killed or anyone and when I blew up like that it shows I’d learned to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just finished a side-story detailing Michael Dewey's years in Hell. Sidekick II


End file.
